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SOUTH SALT LAKE — Police say a man who took an elderly couple hostage, killing the woman and critically injuring the man before being shot and killed by police, was the woman's grandson.
On Sunday, Abe Martinez, 44, entered the home of 89-year-old Rose Martinez and her 71-year-old husband near 450 E. Stanley Ave. (3180 South). Martinez told other family members who were checking up on the couple that he was holding them hostage, according to police.
When officers arrived at the house to talk to Martinez, a shot was fired from inside the home out the window, prompting officers to call for the Unified police SWAT team.
As SWAT members were gathering at the scene, Martinez grew increasingly agitated and told family members on the phone that he was going to kill the couple, according to police.
That prompted three SWAT members already suited up in full gear to form an Immediate Action Team — consisting of one South Salt Lake officer and two Unified officers — and go to the front of the house. The members "engaged" the suspect through a front window and shot and killed the man, according to police.
Rose Martinez was found dead inside.
The cause of the woman's death has not yet been released. Her husband, who is Abe Martinez's stepgrandfather, remained hospitalized Monday in serious condition. His name has not yet been released.
Investigators have not provided details about what prompted police to shoot and whether one or more officers fired. The shooting will be investigated by the West Valley Officer Involved Critical Incident Team.
Several other questions remained unanswered Monday, including how long the couple was held hostage and what prompted the violent outburst from Martinez.
A statement from South Salt Lake police on Monday said Martinez was recently released from the federal system. But according to the U.S. Attorney for Utah's Office, Martinez had actually escaped from a federal halfway house in Salt Lake City. The Federal Bureau of Prisons website lists him as escaped as of Saturday.
Martinez was indicted in 2004 and eventually convicted of drug distribution, witness tampering, assault on a federal officer and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was transferred to a halfway house in May and was scheduled for supervised release on Sept. 20.
Martinez was also convicted in Davis County in 2002 of drug distribution and sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison, a term that was ordered to run concurrent with another federal sentence, according to court records. In 1993, Martinez was convicted of unlawful intercourse with a minor in Salt Lake County.
