In the early morning hours of August 19, 2023, the life of 22-year-old Hispanic female Janet Ramos-Hernandez was tragically cut short. Hailing from Gresham, Oregon, she was discovered deceased inside a room at the Shilo Inn on Market Street Northeast in Salem. The initial call to authorities came in at 6:35 a.m. as a request for CPR. When Salem police officers arrived at the scene, they found Ramos-Hernandez, prompting an immediate and intensive investigation into the circumstances of her
death.
Detectives from the Salem Police Violent Crimes Unit quickly determined that her death was not accidental, and the case was officially ruled a homicide. For weeks, investigators diligently pursued leads and executed several warrants in their search for answers. Their efforts eventually pointed toward a single suspect: 22-year-old Raul Scotte Martinez of Woodburn. The investigation culminated in an indictment by a Marion County grand jury on September 6, 2023.
On September 19, 2023, a month after the discovery of Ramos-Hernandez's body, Raul Scotte Martinez surrendered to authorities at the Marion County Jail. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and felon in possession of a weapon. Martinez later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting death of Ramos-Hernandez. In September 2025, a judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and a concurrent five years for the firearm charge, to be followed by three years of post-prison supervision. Martinez's attorney claimed he acted in self-defense, alleging that Ramos-Hernandez had threatened him with a firearm. An autopsy found that Ramos-Hernandez had ingested cocaine prior to her death.
