On a tragic evening in Goodyear, Arizona, the life of 41-year-old Laura Hernandez-Urbina was cut short in a violent act of domestic violence. On June 8, 2018, Hernandez-Urbina was abducted from her workplace in the Deer Valley area by her ex-husband, Melkyseddek Munoz-Garcia. He forced her into her own car and drove away, setting in motion a devastating chain of events that would end in her murder.
Later that evening, near the intersection of MC-85 and Estrella Parkway in Goodyear,
Hernandez-Urbina made a desperate attempt to escape from her captor. Munoz-Garcia, however, pursued her down the roadway and fatally shot her. When Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at the scene, they found Hernandez-Urbina with a gunshot wound. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The primary suspect in the murder was quickly identified as her 43-year-old ex-husband, who had an extensive history of domestic violence, including a prior conviction for aggravated assault against Hernandez-Urbina. Investigators found evidence in her recovered vehicle that directly linked Munoz-Garcia to the crime. Authorities considered him armed and dangerous and believed he might have fled to his native Chihuahua, Mexico, where he still had family.
Munoz-Garcia was known to use several aliases, including Octavio Olivas-Martinez and Melky. At the time of the incident, he was thought to be driving a 2001 white Ford Ranger with Arizona license plate BTV5380, which was registered to Hernandez-Urbina. He was known to work in construction or as a mechanic and to frequent Latin-themed bars and clubs. As of the last available public reports in early 2019, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was still actively searching for him and seeking information from the public to bring him to justice.
