On a summer evening in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Thomas Trujillo, a 57-year-old Hispanic man, was spending time with his girlfriend, Felicia Valencia, and her elderly father, Ben Noverto Martinez. The three were drinking together at Martinez’s residence. The following morning, June 29, 2018, Trujillo was found dead in the living room of the home. He had been shot three times, once in the chest and twice in the back.
The homeowner, 84-year-old Ben Noverto Martinez, was subsequently arrested
and charged with the murder of his daughter's boyfriend. The path to justice for Trujillo's family would prove to be a long and complicated one. The initial first-degree murder and tampering with evidence charges against Martinez were dropped in October 2018, only to be refiled in June 2022, causing significant delays in the legal process.
During the lengthy interval before the trial, a key witness in the case, Felicia Valencia's son, passed away. The defense for Martinez argued that this loss hindered their ability to present an effective defense and sought to have the case dismissed. However, the court denied these motions, and the trial proceeded. In October 2023, more than five years after Trujillo's death, a jury convicted Ben Noverto Martinez of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Throughout the trial, Martinez maintained his innocence, testifying that he found Trujillo deceased and considered him "a good man." Following the verdict, he was taken into custody to await sentencing.
