Joseph Ayala Maya, a 20-year-old Hispanic/Latino male from Harrisburg, was killed on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, after a violent confrontation inside a home on South 13th Street. Police were first called around 3:30 p.m. for what was initially reported as an assault or an unresponsive person, and officers found him lying between two parked vehicles in the parking lot of the Park Apartments near the 1400 block of South 15th Street.
By the time officers arrived, Ayala Maya had already been declared dead.
Investigators later pieced together that the shooting began inside 1405 South 13th Street, where blood was found on the front steps, landing, and inside the home. Photographs taken by investigators showed a red baseball bat and bloodstains at the top of the stairs, along with a bullet hole on the second floor. Video from nearby homes showed Ayala Maya running away from the house toward the place where his body was later found, leaving a shoe behind as he fled. A red Nissan Maxima later linked to him was found parked about a quarter mile from the apartment complex.
The autopsy showed that Ayala Maya had been shot in the back behind the left shoulder. The bullet traveled through both lungs and exited through the right side of his chest, causing him to bleed to death. The forensic pathologist found no soot or gunpowder on his clothing or wound, leading to the conclusion that the shot was fired from more than three to four feet away. The pathologist also concluded the shooter was positioned higher than Ayala Maya when the gun was fired, and ruled the cause of death a gunshot wound to the back and the manner of death a homicide.
The case centered on Jomar Perez-Escobales and Savannah Nieves. Nieves testified that she and Perez-Escobales had been in a toxic relationship and shared a son, and that by April 2020 she had begun a romantic relationship with Ayala Maya. On the day of the killing, Nieves said Ayala Maya was at her home while she was showering when Perez-Escobales unexpectedly came inside. According to her testimony, Perez-Escobales came upstairs carrying a red metal bat, cursed in Spanish, followed her and Ayala Maya into the bedroom, and confronted them.
Nieves said she tried to grab the bat from Perez-Escobales as he attempted to strike her and Ayala Maya. She testified that once she got hold of the bat, Perez-Escobales pulled a black 9 mm gun from his waistband and pointed it at both of them. Ayala Maya ran out of the room toward the staircase, and Perez-Escobales followed. As the men argued while moving down the stairs, Nieves said she heard Ayala Maya plead for his life. She then saw the gun in the air and heard a pop. Ayala Maya fled out the front door, while Perez-Escobales fled through the back door.
After the shooting, Nieves said Perez-Escobales contacted her, apologized for what happened, and told her to meet him at his mother’s house in Steelton. She said he directed her to bring Ayala Maya’s phone and fanny pack, which had been left behind, and the shell casing. Nieves testified that she did not yet know Ayala Maya had died, but felt she had no choice but to comply. She left the house in a cab with two bags. At Perez-Escobales’ mother’s home, his stepfather took the bag containing Ayala Maya’s belongings, and Perez-Escobales, his mother, and his stepfather discussed a plan for him and Nieves to leave for Lancaster.
Police soon identified Nieves as a person of interest, and she was taken into custody by Swatara Township Police on unrelated offenses. She initially did not tell investigators everything, later explaining that she feared being named as an accomplice. Eventually, she agreed to cooperate under a proffer agreement. She testified that the Commonwealth did not charge her with accomplice liability or tampering with evidence.
Perez-Escobales was arrested on April 14, 2020. During the arrest, police followed his black Mitsubishi, and when the vehicle stopped, Perez-Escobales got out along with his brother, Brian Escobales. Brian fled briefly, and police later recovered a bag, marijuana, and a gun from an area near where he ran. Fingerprints taken from that firearm matched Perez-Escobales. Police also recovered a 9 mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol from Perez-Escobales’ residence on April 14, and a Taurus 9 mm firearm from a bag found during a later search at his mother’s house in Steelton.
Perez-Escobales testified in his own defense and gave a different version of the encounter. He said Nieves had sent him a photo of an Easter basket for their son, which he took as an invitation to come pick it up. He said he found Ayala Maya in Nieves’ room, felt confused and betrayed because he considered Ayala Maya like a brother, and the two men began fighting. Perez-Escobales claimed he believed Ayala Maya touched or reached toward his gun and that, as Ayala Maya moved down the stairs and tugged at his pants, he pulled the trigger and shot him. His defense centered on self-defense, but the court later noted that the evidence did not support that justification, especially because Ayala Maya had been shot in the back.
The Commonwealth charged Perez-Escobales with criminal homicide and burglary. The case went to a jury trial in July 2024. The jury found him not guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and burglary, but convicted him of third-degree murder. On October 7, 2024, he was sentenced to 18 to 40 years in prison, plus fines and costs. Perez-Escobales appealed, challenging evidence admitted at trial and the length of his sentence, but the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the judgment of sentence in 2025.
