Julieta Marin Amador, a 30-year-old Hispanic female, tragically lost her life on November 21, 2022, in Maricopa, Arizona, due to gun violence. The incident that led to her death unfolded in a home near State Route 347 in the unincorporated area of Maricopa.
On that Monday evening, around 9 p.m., a child placed a harrowing 911 call, reporting that a family member was dying and that the victim's husband had shot her. When Pinal County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the residence on Padilla Road, they discovered Julieta with a gunshot wound. Despite efforts to help her, she succumbed to her injuries. The shooting was allegedly witnessed by her two young children and her 12-year-old sister.
The suspect was quickly identified as her 32-year-old husband, Ismael Ortega Hernandez. Following the shooting, Hernandez fled the scene on foot, leaving his cell phone behind. This initiated an extensive manhunt, with authorities describing him as 'armed and dangerous'. Investigators later revealed a history of domestic violence against Amador and that Hernandez, a Mexican national, had been ordered for deportation in 2011 after a felony drug conviction. For a period, he was listed as one of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Most Wanted Fugitives.
After months on the run, the search for Hernandez came to an end on August 6, 2025, when he was arrested for a DUI in Denver, Colorado, under a false name. His identity was confirmed through his fingerprints, and he was subsequently transferred back to Arizona into the custody of Pinal County detectives. A grand jury has since indicted Ismael Ortega Hernandez on a charge of first-degree murder for the death of his girlfriend. He is being held on a $1 million cash bond.
