Ostwald Danny Sanchez, a 22-year-old Hispanic male, was found deceased on the evening of Friday, April 10, 2020, in a car that had been left on train tracks along Harris Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island. The discovery was made by an Amtrak worker who promptly alerted law enforcement. Inside the vehicle with Sanchez was another victim, Hailey K. Bennett.
Both individuals had sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
Though the grim discovery was made in Providence, the ensuing investigation, which involved the use of surveillance footage and other evidence, led authorities to determine that the double homicide had not taken place there. Instead, investigators traced the crime to the nearby city of Central Falls. It is believed that after being shot and killed in Central Falls, Sanchez and Bennett were driven to Providence where the car was abandoned on the train tracks.
Shortly after the bodies were found, the investigation led to the arrest of a suspect, Jose Diaz Marmolejos. The Providence Police initially charged him with two counts of first-degree murder. However, once the jurisdiction of the crime was established as Central Falls, the charges were refiled by the authorities in that city. Marmolejos was subsequently held without bail following a video conference arraignment. At the time of his arrest and arraignment, law enforcement officials did not release any information regarding a potential motive for the killings or the nature of the relationship between the suspect and the two victims. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Ostwald Danny Sanchez and Hailey K. Bennett continued.
