Woman found dead in garage in 1985, California officials say. Now, ex-husband arrested

A man was arrested after he was accused of killing his ex-wife nearly 40 years ago in the garage of the home they once shared, California prosecutors say.

Following his arrest in El Salvador, Rafael Antonio Martinez, 78, made his initial court appearance Friday, Sept. 13, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

His ex-wife, Ana Martinez, was found dead inside a car parked in the garage of a Daly City home on March 12, 1985, prosecutors said.

Through an autopsy, investigators learned she had been shot four times, according to prosecutors.

Her position and wounds showed she was sitting in the passenger seat while the assailant “fired from the driver’s side,” prosecutors said.

Martinez vanished from the area the same day his ex-wife was found dead, prosecutors said.

“He never reported back to work again and never picked up his final paycheck,” prosecutors said.

Martinez phoned a friend and confessed to shooting his ex-wife; however, he was unsure if she survived the shooting, according to prosecutors.

He fled to Los Angeles, where he stayed for less than a week, before leaving for Mexico and eventually El Salvador, prosecutors said.

Martinez was found and arrested on a murder charge in El Salvador with the help of the International Criminal Police Organization and United States Department of State, according to prosecutors and arrest records.

Martinez, who is being held without bail, is expected to appear in court again on Sept. 20, prosecutors said.

Daly City is about a 10-mile drive southwest from San Francisco.

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