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SALT LAKE CITY — Gabriela Gutierrez believes somebody knows something about her husband's death.
"Someone out there has to know who did it," she said.
On Oct. 21 at 10:15 p.m., Gutierrez's husband, Cristhian Marquez, 33, of Salt Lake City, was at a car wash, 1075 S. Redwood Road, when he was gunned down by an unknown man.
Salt Lake police believe the attack was completely random and that Marquez, who has no significant criminal history, did not have any prior association with the alleged gunman.
"He was a family man. He wasn't someone who was into drugs or drinking a lot or partying," Gutierrez said.
On Thursday, police announced that they're looking for two people believed to be involved in the shooting. In addition to a man in a gray hoodie who investigators consider the gunman, a woman may have also been an accomplice. The woman may have been driving a stolen car, according to police.
Marquez had just purchased the car he was washing that night, a dark-colored 2015 Toyota Avalon, a week earlier and wanted to take good care of it.
"He was excited and wanted to keep it clean and everything," Gutierrez said.
Going to the car wash at 10 p.m. wasn't unusual, she said. The couple lived just a couple of blocks from the car wash, and Gutierrez said she had gone there by herself on other nights to wash her car.
Gutierrez said, according to police who have watched the surveillance video at the car wash, her husband parked his car in a bay, walked to the change machine to get coins for the car wash, and returned to his bay to find another man there.
"A man walked up to him, approached him I guess, and they said it kind of looks like my husband pushed him out from where the car was parked. And the man went back in and that's when I believe he shot him," she said.
As the gunman drove off in Marquez's car, Marquez stumbled out to Redwood Road to flag down other motorists and get help.
"I heard the ambulances and firefighters. They drove by my house about that time he was shot. But I had no idea that he was gone," Gutierrez said.
It wasn't until the next morning after investigators were able to identify Marquez — after he had died at the hospital — that Gutierrez was notified about what happened.
Related:
Man dies from injuries after he was shot at SLC car wash
A 33-year-old man died Saturday from injuries sustained in a shooting during an altercation while at a local car wash Friday night, police said."It's not fair his life was taken like that. Why would they have to shoot him to steal his car or money or anything? They could have done something else," she said. "It's crazy to me this would have happened. But he was a good man, and he didn't deserve to die the way he did, and especially all alone in the hospital. Nobody knew what was going on. Nobody was there to support him. So I hope they find the man who did this."
Marquez's car was found on fire at 1532 W. High Ave. (250 West) about five hours later, though police Thursday said a resident reported that it had been sitting there was early as 1 a.m.
"It's bound to happen again. I mean, this person burned his car. I don't know if that person is really smart," Gutierrez said. "I'm thinking it's not the first time that he's done this."
Gutierrez and Marquez's families live about five minutes apart in the same city in Mexico, she said. Although the families knew of each other, it wasn't until about 3 ½ years ago that she met her future husband on Facebook.
Marquez loved boxing and going to a shooting range with his brothers, she said. But he also loved his family and paid particular attention to walking their five dogs every day.
"He was always taking really good care of them, taking them out to the park every single day. It didn't matter if it was raining, snowing or shining," Gutierrez said.
The couple had planned on renewing their wedding vows in February. Marquez is also survived by an 8-year-old son from a prior relationship.
Salt Lake police hope the release of pictures from the surveillance video will prompt anyone who saw something that night to step forward.
Anyone with information on the homicide investigation can call police at 801-799-3000. Anonymous tips may be sent by text to 274637 using the keyword TIPSLCPD.
