The months-long question of what led to a deadly shooting inside a South-Central El Paso home just after Christmas has ended with a long prison term for the woman at the center of the case.
Luz Elena Martinez, 54, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing her husband on Dec. 27, 2023. The sentence was imposed May 13 and brings to a close the investigation into the shooting at the couple’s South-Central El Paso residence.
According to KFOX14, court records show Martinez pleaded guilty to murder and received the 20-year sentence for the Dec. 27, 2023 death of her husband, 47-year-old Jose Luis Avalos Reyes. The filings reviewed by the station state that before the shooting, Martinez had discovered Reyes was having an extramarital affair and had already hired a private investigator and a divorce lawyer.
Investigation and arrest
Investigators say Martinez initially told officers that Reyes had attacked her with a knife, but detectives later concluded that her story did not line up with what they found at the scene. Responding officers discovered Reyes dead in bed, with a pistol on a nightstand and a knife in his left hand, which investigators determined was his non-dominant hand. Detectives also say Martinez called a witness before dialing 911.
Martinez was arrested March 11, 2024, by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, according to KVIA ABC-7.
What court records show
Documents cited by KFOX14 indicate Martinez acknowledged shooting Reyes and that physical evidence at the scene contradicted her initial self-defense claim. The records also note she had hired a private investigator to follow her husband and retained an attorney to pursue divorce proceedings after learning of the affair.
Case status
Martinez’s guilty plea and the May 13 sentence resolve the criminal case unless she seeks post-conviction relief. Local reporting and court records do not reference any public statement by prosecutors or family members. Earlier coverage also notes Martinez was booked at the El Paso County Detention Facility on a murder warrant following her March arrest, according to KVIA ABC-7.
