Adela Gonzalez Martinez, a 39-year-old Hispanic woman, was found dead in her Brownsville, Texas, apartment on November 2, 2020. The discovery was made after her ex-husband, Jose Arnoldo Rodriguez, called police to request a welfare check. He told officers he had arrived at her home on Dana Avenue to drop off their two children but found the door partially open and could not reach her.
When police entered the apartment, they found Adela in her bedroom with a fatal gunshot wound to her head.
The investigation uncovered a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Rodriguez. Authorities alleged that he hired two men from San Antonio, Jonathan Xavier Roman Martinez and Charly Angel Carrillo Torres, to kill his ex-wife in exchange for cash and a truck. The motive appeared to be financial, as prosecutors stated Rodriguez owed Adela tens of thousands of dollars in child support. Investigators also learned that Rodriguez had attempted to hire two other men to kill her in 2018 over a $10,000 child support debt.
In March 2021, police arrested Rodriguez, Martinez, and Torres. According to investigators, Torres served as the driver while Martinez entered the apartment and shot Adela. The case expanded in November 2024 with the arrest of a fourth suspect, Rodriguez’s girlfriend, Cynthia Margarita Olvera. Prosecutors accused Olvera of being the “mastermind” who conspired in the scheme and provided the men with Adela’s home address. She was charged with capital murder, conspiracy, and engaging in organized criminal activity.
All three men ultimately pleaded guilty to their roles in the murder. Charly Angel Carrillo Torres pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation with intent to commit another felony and agreed to testify against the other defendants in exchange for an expected 25-year prison sentence. Jonathan Xavier Roman Martinez, during his trial, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. In November 2025, Jose Arnoldo Rodriguez pleaded guilty to murder and received a 40-year prison sentence.
As of November 2025, three of the four people charged in Adela Gonzalez Martinez’s death had been convicted and sentenced. The case against the final suspect, Cynthia Margarita Olvera, was proceeding to trial after she pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
