17-year-old asked boyfriend to join plot to kill father, police say

By Cristina Chang

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 | 5:18 p.m.

The 17-year-old daughter of the man stabbed to death Monday in the northeast valley planned his slaying, which was carried out by the girl’s boyfriend, according to a criminal complaint released Wednesday.

Jose Martinez, 19, has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, murder with use of a deadly weapon and burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon. He is jailed in the Clark County Detention Center without bail and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday. His 17-year-old girlfriend has also been arrested on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday identified the victim as 45-year-old Jaime Meza Guzman. He was reported dead about 12:13 p.m. Monday at his home in the 2500 block of San Marcos Street.

Details of a twisted plot were revealed in the arrest report.

The 17-year-old girl, who returned home about 5 p.m. Monday, told Metro Police that she and her father had gotten into an argument Sunday over her career choice. The girl told police she snuck out of the house about 3:30 a.m. Monday and was picked up by Martinez, who drove her to his house. The girl told police she returned after 6 a.m. Monday to retrieve some of her possessions then snuck back out to spend the day with Martinez.

After initially denying that Martinez had come into her house, the girl admitted to police she and Martinez had sex Monday morning in her bedroom.

In his initial statement to detectives, Martinez corroborated much of his girlfriend’s chain of events and agreed to take a polygraph test at Metro headquarters. Martinez, however, gave a second statement when detectives told him they knew he was lying, according to the report.

Martinez told detectives that after his girlfriend had called him to pick her up, he climbed through her window to help her pack. At that point, Meza Guzman entered the room and rushed toward him.

Martinez said he pushed Meza Guzman back into his bedroom and threw him on the bed, according to the report. Martinez said Meza Guzman had tried to stab him with a knife, leading the two to fight over the weapon. Martinez said he blacked out after being punched in the head and woke up with a bloody knife in his hand and standing over Meza Guzman’s body. Martinez told detectives he wrapped the knife in a shirt and had discarded both items.

After relating his changed story, detectives placed Martinez under arrest for Meza Guzman’s murder.

About that time, an anonymous tipster called emergency dispatchers, saying he knew who committed the slaying and that the killer was in the process of taking a polygraph test. The tipster also stated that the victim’s daughter had planned the murder and had asked her boyfriend to do it, according to the police report.

After being given the new information, Martinez changed his story again. He told detectives his girlfriend had asked him to kill Meza Guzman for being abusive toward her. Martinez had asked two friends to help him but they refused, saying that it was “a lot to ask of a friend.”

Martinez said he did not want to kill Meza Guzman and had even tried to delay action until the 17-year-old girlfriend could leave on her own, according to the report. But when she had called him and said it was time, Martinez came through the front door of her house and they entered Meza Guzman’s room. The girlfriend closed the door and stuffed blankets underneath to muffle the sound.

According to Martinez, Meza Guzman was still asleep when he jumped on him and stabbed him repeatedly with a knife. Martinez laughed incredulously when the victim pleaded for his life and said he had never threatened the couple. Martinez also rolled the victim onto his stomach so he could not fight back, the report said.

When the couple thought Meza Guzman was dead, they covered him with a blanket. But when Martinez noticed Meza Guzman still was breathing, Martinez stabbed him several more times through the blanket. The girlfriend was in the room but facing the door during the stabbing, Martinez said.

Investigators noted 30 to 40 stab wounds on the victim’s body as well as a bloody 3-inch retractable blade with a broken tip on the top of the white blanket covering the body.

A green Post-it Note was also found in the middle of the girlfriend’s bedroom floor. It read: “He’s slept with door open and woke up when I called you. Don’t hear snoring now only little.” A pencil and pad of matching Post-it Notes were found on the desk. A bloody footwear impression that matched the girlfriend’s shoe was also found on the blue bed sheet near the victim’s head.

When detectives told the girlfriend of Martinez’s confession and asked if she wanted a parent or guardian present, she instead asked for an attorney. She also showed no emotion when told she was being accused of murder and planning to kill her father, the report said.