In the quiet community of Tucson, Arizona, the life of Michael Albert Dojaquez, a 45-year-old Hispanic man, came to a tragic and violent end. On September 26, 2003, Dojaquez, a well-regarded yoga instructor, was discovered lifeless on his own front porch, having been fatally shot. The scene at his home on North Sparkman Boulevard, near North Country Club and East Grant Roads, was initially a mystery to investigators, leaving a family and community in shock.
His daughter, Brianna Dojaquez, remembered him as a joyful family man who would take her to the Gaslight Theatre and the renaissance fair.
The investigation into the beloved yoga teacher's death soon uncovered a complex personal story. Detectives learned that Michael Dojaquez had been involved in an extramarital affair with one of his students, a 30-year-old accountant named Amber Lynn Trudell. Trudell, who was also married, had been taking both group and private lessons with Dojaquez at Yoga Oasis. Their relationship had blossomed into a romance, a detail that would become central to the case. The night before his body was found, Dojaquez and Trudell had been out for drinks and returned to his home in the early morning hours.
Amber Lynn Trudell was arrested for the murder of Michael Dojaquez in New York in November 2003 and was subsequently brought back to Tucson to face a first-degree murder charge. During the investigation and subsequent legal proceedings, Trudell claimed that an argument had erupted between them after she expressed a desire to return to her husband. She alleged that Dojaquez had physically and sexually assaulted her. According to Trudell's account, a distraught Dojaquez then took her hand, which was holding her pistol, and forced her to shoot him in the head.
Trudell's first trial ended in a hung jury, as the jurors could not reach a consensus on the murder charge. However, prosecutors pursued a second trial, which resulted in a conviction for second-degree murder. On October 18, 2005, Amber Lynn Trudell was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the death of Michael Albert Dojaquez. His family, including his mother, Lydia, and his daughters, spoke at the sentencing, expressing their profound loss. Trudell was released from prison on October 19, 2016.
