Myron Robert Martinez, a 38-year-old man from Del Norte, Colorado, had not been in contact with his family since late October 2020. Worry grew, and on November 6, 2020, his family officially reported him missing to the Rio Grande Sheriff's Office. Just days later, a horrifying discovery began to unfold in the rural San Luis Valley that would reveal Myron was not just missing, but a victim of a brutal serial killer.
His last known communication was a Facebook message to a man named Adre Baroz on October 27.
The investigation began on November 10, 2020, when investigators, acting on a warrant for stolen vehicles, searched a property in the small community of Los Sauces in Conejos County. There, they found human remains. A subsequent search on a nearby property on November 13 yielded the same grim discovery. Forensic analysis would later confirm the remains belonged to multiple individuals, launching a massive multi-agency investigation and a manhunt for a suspect named Adre Jordan Baroz, a 26-year-old from Sanford known locally as "Psycho."
On December 5, 2020, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced that one set of remains had been identified through forensic odontology as Myron Robert Martinez. He would have turned 38 on November 15. Investigators also identified the remains of his girlfriend, 34-year-old Shayla Jenna Hammel, who had been reported missing on Thanksgiving Day after last being seen with Myron in late October. The investigation revealed a chilling sequence of events: Myron was killed on October 27, 2020, at Baroz's Alamosa apartment during a drug deal. While Myron was being murdered, Shayla waited in their car outside.
The investigation into the murders was complex, involving a task force of local and state law enforcement agencies. After a manhunt, Adre Baroz was arrested on November 19, 2020, at a motel in Gallup, New Mexico. The investigation revealed that Baroz did not act alone. His brother, Julius Baroz, and two other men, Francisco "Pancho" Ramirez and CJ Walter Dominguez, were also arrested for their roles in the crimes. Prosecutors said Baroz and his accomplices dismembered their victims and burned their bodies in "burn pits" on the two Los Sauces properties, one of which was owned by Ramirez.
The case concluded with Adre Baroz pleading guilty to a string of charges for a seven-week killing spree that claimed five lives in total. The other victims were identified as Korina Arroyo, 31, Selena Esquibel, 19, and Xavier Zeven Garcia, 24. For his crimes, Baroz was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of tampering with a deceased human body, and additional charges of assault and kidnapping. He was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 140 years in prison.
His accomplices also faced justice. Julius Baroz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Francisco Ramirez pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with a deceased human body and received consecutive sentences totaling 24 years. CJ Dominguez pleaded guilty to tampering with a deceased human body and was sentenced to 12 years. The case brought a close to a reign of terror in the San Luis Valley, but left behind a wake of devastation for the families of Myron Martinez and the other victims.
