In the late hours of a November night in Greeley, Colorado, a burst of violence shattered the quiet, claiming the life of 21-year-old Herminia 'Minnie' Marquez. On November 28, 2022, Greeley police responded to a shooting in the 1100 block of 24th Street Lane. Arriving at the scene, officers discovered Marquez with a gunshot wound; she was later pronounced dead.
The investigation into the young woman's death led to two individuals, Amos Alaniz and Mary Alicia Garcia.
The motive behind the senseless act was reportedly a dispute over a stolen vehicle that Marquez and Alaniz's sister would not return to him. In a tragic escalation of this dispute, Alaniz fatally shot Marquez.
In the months that followed, law enforcement diligently pursued justice for Marquez. Mary Alicia Garcia, who was 28 at the time, was identified as the driver of the getaway vehicle on the night of the shooting. She was apprehended in January 2023 after a police pursuit. A jury later convicted Garcia of first-degree murder, and in July 2024, she was sentenced to life in prison. At the time of the murder, Garcia was on parole.
The case against the man who pulled the trigger, 24-year-old Amos Alaniz, concluded in April 2025. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and also received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, the profound grief of Marquez's family was palpable. Her mother described her as a 'bright beautiful soul' and a 'loving daughter, a sister and a friend,' whose loss created a wound that would never heal. Her father spoke of the overwhelming pain of losing a child with a 'heart full of dreams and aspirations.'
