In the early morning hours of April 3, 2017, the life of 19-year-old Maria Alegandra Ayala was tragically cut short in Taylorsville, Utah. A member of the Shivwits Indian Reservation who grew up participating in Native American Pow-Wows as a Fancy Shawl Dancer, Maria was driving her car near the Callaway Apartments around 1:15 a.m. when gunshots rang out. Investigators believe she was shot while the vehicle was in motion.
Her car, struck by multiple bullets, continued to roll for about 75 yards before slowly crashing into a parked van. When police arrived, they found Maria deceased in the driver's seat with a gunshot wound to her head.
The initial investigation led police to question four teenagers, three boys and a girl, who were found in a nearby apartment after a witness reported seeing them run into the unit, one with a "bloody shirt." While at least three of the teens were documented gang members and associates of Ayala, they were not immediately named as suspects in the shooting. The scene of the crime, littered with shell casings, and the bullet holes in Maria's car, including one in the driver's side window, painted a grim picture of the violence that had unfolded.
Over a year later, in October 2018, a significant development occurred in the case. Domingo Rodrigues, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was charged as an adult with murder and multiple counts of discharging a firearm. Witnesses told police that the shooting followed a party where two groups were leaving in separate vehicles. Occupants of Ayala's car allegedly began making gang signs towards the other vehicle. In response, Rodrigues, known by the moniker "Demon," allegedly put his hand out of his truck's window and opened fire. Rodrigues, who had turned 18 five months after the fatal shooting, was already in custody at a youth center when the murder charge was filed.
