On a Sunday afternoon in Apache Junction, Arizona, 28-year-old Maria Guadalupe Godinez Ramirez was tragically killed. Leaving work on May 1, 2022, she was followed by her ex-boyfriend, 34-year-old Ulises A. Cruz Peraza. Aware that she was being pursued, she attempted to find safety but was instead ambushed and shot multiple times along the Old West Highway.
Despite her injuries, Ramirez was able to call 911 for help.
Police officers found Ramirez in her vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. She was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition, but she ultimately succumbed to her injuries and died a few hours later in surgery. Investigators quickly identified the incident as a homicide and began searching for the suspect. The investigation revealed that Ramirez had been in an abusive relationship with Peraza and had sought and obtained a protective order against him five months prior to the shooting because she feared for her life.
Following the shooting, Ulises A. Cruz Peraza fled to Los Angeles, California. With the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, detectives were able to track him down in his vehicle and arrest him. Peraza was taken into custody and held at the Los Angeles County Jail on a homicide charge, awaiting extradition back to Arizona to face legal proceedings. Maria Guadalupe Godinez Ramirez was a single mother, leaving behind her two young children, an 8-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son.
