Adamari Ramirez, a 19-year-old Hispanic female and young mother to a five-month-old baby girl, was trying to escape a violent relationship when her life was cut short. In the days before her death, she had been making plans to move from Las Vegas, Nevada, to California to live with her father and get away from her ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old Israel Zamora.
Their two-year relationship was marked by what relatives described as numerous domestic violence incidents, and Zamora had reportedly threatened to shoot her multiple times.
The situation escalated just four days before the shooting. On May 30, 2023, police were called to the apartment Adamari and Zamora had shared for a domestic disturbance. She told officers that Zamora had held her down, bit her on the forehead, and taken her phone so she could not call for help. Zamora was gone when police arrived, but a judge subsequently granted a temporary protective order against him. The order, however, had not yet been served.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, June 3, 2023, Adamari arrived home at her apartment complex on North Nellis Boulevard with her mother just before 1:15 a.m. As they parked, Zamora approached them and began to argue with Adamari. He then allegedly shot her once in the chest before driving away from the scene. Police responding to reports of the shooting found Adamari near her apartment with a gunshot wound. Medical personnel arrived, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner later confirmed she died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department immediately identified Israel Zamora as the suspect and launched a search, cautioning the public that he should be considered armed and dangerous. Police noted that Zamora was hearing impaired and known to communicate through sign language or phone applications. After nearly two weeks on the run, Zamora voluntarily turned himself in at the Clark County Detention Center on Friday, June 16.
Zamora was booked into custody and made his initial court appearance on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, communicating with the judge via a sign language interpreter. A criminal complaint was filed that day formally charging him with open murder and assault with a deadly weapon. He was held without bail, and as of June 2023, the case was proceeding through the court system.
