In the early morning hours of September 30, 2015, the life of 34-year-old Miguel Angel Hernandez was tragically cut short in the parking lot of the Four Seasons Restaurant in Greenwood, Indiana. A cook at the establishment, Hernandez was arriving for his shift around 6:15 a.m. when he was ambushed and fatally shot next to his car. The restaurant had just opened for breakfast, and the sound of multiple gunshots shattered the morning calm, leading witnesses to discover Hernandez gravely
wounded.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a personal motive rooted in jealousy and betrayal. Police learned that Hernandez had been involved in an affair with the wife of another man. This information, provided by Hernandez's own wife, led authorities to 37-year-old Candelario Cruz-Trujillo of Indianapolis. Investigators located and arrested Cruz-Trujillo at a home in Columbus the day after the shooting on a preliminary charge of murder.
During questioning, Candelario Cruz-Trujillo confessed to the killing, admitting that he had confronted Hernandez over the affair. In his confession, he detailed the violent encounter, stating he shot Hernandez three times. Two of the shots struck Hernandez in the body, with one bullet severing his spine. The final, fatal shot was to his head. The motive, as confirmed by law enforcement, was Cruz-Trujillo's anger over the relationship between his wife and Hernandez.
Following a four-day trial, a jury found Candelario Cruz-Trujillo guilty of the murder of Miguel Angel Hernandez. In November of 2016, he was sentenced to 56 years in prison. During the sentencing, the prosecution argued for a lengthy sentence, citing Cruz-Trujillo's criminal history and his status as an undocumented immigrant. The judge, in handing down the sentence, noted that Cruz-Trujillo had other options to address his marital issues, such as seeking a divorce, but instead chose a path of violence that ended one life and irrevocably altered many others.
