Christina Ann Haley was a 47-year-old woman whose life was tragically cut short in what police determined was a murder-suicide in her San Diego, California, apartment. Friends and family remembered her as a beloved individual, and her unexpected absence from work was so out of character that it prompted a relative to call for a welfare check, setting in motion the discovery of the tragedy.
The series of events began on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
Around 2:30 p.m., the San Diego Police Department received reports of possible gunshots at an apartment complex in the Del Cerro neighborhood, on the 5700 block of College Avenue near Del Cerro Boulevard. Officers responded to the scene but found nothing suspicious and left. The following day, a family member grew concerned when Christina, who was known to be dependable, failed to show up for her scheduled work shift and was not answering her phone. The relative requested that police conduct a welfare check.
Officers arrived at Christina’s apartment around 1:05 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30. They knocked on the door and spoke briefly with a man inside, later identified as 40-year-old Paul Cervantes Martinez, who was Christina's boyfriend. Martinez told the officers that everything was fine, refused to open the door, and asked them to leave. His response raised the officers' suspicions, and they began gathering more information about the people who lived in the apartment. Based on what they learned, they made the decision to force entry.
Once inside, they made a devastating discovery: Christina Ann Haley was deceased. As they proceeded to search the rest of the home, they encountered a closed bedroom door. Believing an armed person might be barricaded inside, the officers exited the apartment and called for backup. The situation quickly escalated into a SWAT standoff. The department’s Special Response Team and Emergency Negotiations Team established a perimeter, shutting down nearby streets for several hours. Negotiators tried for hours to communicate with anyone who might be in the bedroom, but they received no response. Officers also deployed drones to assess the situation inside the room.
Later that evening, after all attempts at communication had failed, SWAT officers breached the bedroom door. Inside, they found Paul Martinez dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A handgun was found near his body, and a rifle was also recovered from the bedroom.
Detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit took over the investigation. Based on evidence collected at the scene and interviews with witnesses, they pieced together the timeline of the crime. Investigators concluded that on September 29, the day the initial gunshots were reported, Martinez had shot and killed Christina. They believe he was the man who spoke to officers through the door the next day before barricading himself in the bedroom with the firearms and ultimately taking his own life.
The case was officially closed as a murder-suicide, with the primary suspect deceased. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office worked to determine the official cause and manner of death for both individuals. Police assured the public that they did not believe there was any ongoing threat to the community. As of October 2026, the investigation was concluded. Anyone with information regarding the incident was encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
