| Murder of Maritza Martin | |
| Location: | North Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Date: | January 18, 1993 |
| Type: | Murder by shooting |
| Victim: | Maritza Martin |
| Perpetrator: | Emilio Nuñez |
| Numpart: | --> |
| Dfen: | --> |
| Verdict: | Guilty |
| Charges: | First-degree murder Unlawful flight to avoid prosecution |
| Judge: | Daniel True Andrews |
On January 18, 1993, Maritza Martin Munoz, a 33-year-old Cuban-American woman, was shot to death by her 34-year-old ex-husband, Emilio Nuñez, at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale, Florida. Nuñez had been interviewed by Ocurrió Así television reporter Ingrid Cruz, who accompanied him when he visited his daughter's grave.[1] While the crew was filming Nuñez at the cemetery, Martin arrived for her own visit, at which time Cruz confronted Martin, who was sitting silently in her vehicle, insisting that Martin answer her questions.[2] Martin and Nuñez's 15-year-old daughter, Yoandra, had committed suicide in November 1992 following their discovery of her being 13 weeks pregnant, and Nuñez had blamed the incident on Martin. Nuñez believed that their daughter had been abused by her stepfather and murdered or driven to suicide by her mother.[3] Both theories were rejected by investigators. Yoandra had been raised by Martin; Nuñez was prevented from having contact with her.[4]
As Cruz continued banging on Martin's car window trying to get her to answer questions, Nuñez left the grave site and returned to his vehicle. Martin then left her own car, made a note of Nuñez' license plate number, then turned towards the grave, all while ignoring Cruz' constant barrage of questions. As Martin started silently walking towards the grave with Cruz still peppering her with questions, Nuñez suddenly returned with a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol, shot Martin in the back of the head, then shot her now prone body several more times. The cameraman managed to film the shots while Cruz started screaming and ran towards the station vehicle. The footage was later used in the 1993 shockumentary film Traces of Death.[5] It was also shown in the 2002 documentary film Bowling for Columbine.[6]
At the time of her death, Martin left behind an eighteen-month-old son.[7] She was buried next to her daughter.[8]
In 2000, Emilio Nuñez was found guilty by a jury in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[9] He was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 25 years.