Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Danny Ledezma Martinez Sentenced to LWOP in 2010 AZ Murder of 29-Year-Old Police Officer Travis Murphy

  1. #1
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875

    Danny Ledezma Martinez Sentenced to LWOP in 2010 AZ Murder of 29-Year-Old Police Officer Travis Murphy







    Man convicted of 2010 Phoenix police officer murder

    By Ben Margiott
    The Arizona Republic

    The man accused of murdering Phoenix police Officer Travis Murphy in 2010 was found guilty of first-degree murder in court Wednesday afternoon, according to Phoenix police.

    Danny Ledezma Martinez shot Murphy, 29, on May 26, 2010 when police responded to a suspicious person call near Indian School Road and 19th Avenue.

    Martinez shot at Murphy from a dark alcove, causing multiple gunshot wounds that led to the officer's death two hours later. Tactical teams soon found Martinez naked in a nearby shed.

    Murphy's family and the police department appreciated the work of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department said Wednesday. Sgt. Trent Crump said they were pleased by the guilty verdict but he would not comment further because Martinez has not been sentenced.

    Martinez previously did prison time for felony weapons charges in his hometown of Tucson, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.

    Murphy, who had been with the department for four years, served on the dangerous night shift and was well-respected in the organization. He left behind a girl who was 2 years old at the time of his death and a newborn baby boy.

    http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/29...-death-penalty
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #2
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Hearing for cop killer rescheduled for Wednesday

    By Fox 10 News Staff

    PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A man who was convicted of killing a Phoenix police officer may be sentenced to death.

    But first, a jury must decide if the crime was heinous enough.

    An aggravation hearing was set to begin on Tuesday morning to determine if Danny Martinez should be eligible for the death penalty for shooting and killing a Phoenix police officer five years ago.

    However, the hearing was vacated and rescheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

    Last week, Martinez was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Officer Travis Murphy.

    The officer confronted Martinez in 2010 after receiving a call of shots fired near 19th Avenue and Indian School.

    Martinez shot Officer Murphy 10 times with an AR-15 rifle, killing him.

    Officer Murphy was 29-years-old and had been on the force for four years.

    He left behind a wife, a 2-year-old daughter and a 2-week-old son.

    The prosecution is seeking the death penalty.

    The jury will take another look at the case on Tuesday to see if the crime has aggravating factors that would warrant the death penalty.

    http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/29...-death-penalty
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #3
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Dramatic testimony in sentencing trial for convicted cop killer

    By Jason Volentine
    KPHO

    PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) - A dramatic display caused some courtroom tension during the sentencing trial of a convicted cop killer.

    Danny Martinez was found guilty in the 2010 shooting death of Phoenix police Officer Travis Murphy
    . Now prosecutors are seeking permission to use the death penalty – clearance that must be granted by the jury.

    The testimony, hard to listen to at times, included fellow officers who tried to save Murphy after bullets from Martinez’s assault rifle ripped through him.

    “It was a lot of blood coming out of the bottom of his leg," said Officer Chris Gallego, choking up at times. "It was warm. I can remember, um, it was a lot, and I just tried as hard as I could just to apply pressure on that." Gallego rode with Murphy in the back of a squad car as officers rushed him to a nearby hospital.

    For prosecutors to seek the death penalty, they have to prove aggravating factors in the murder. They argued the fact that Murphy lived and suffered immense pain for quite some time following the shooting, calling it proof that the murder exceptionally cruel.

    To counter that point, the defense employed an unorthodox argument. With dramatic flair, the defense attorney held up the murder weapon, a high-powered assault rifle, and told the jury that Martinez expected to kill Murphy quickly and did not intend for him to suffer as he did.

    “When you point this weapon, and it's loaded, and there's a magazine in it, and you fire 12 times at another human being, your intent is for that person to fall dead,” the defense attorney said. “[Martinez] wasn't intending to cause any kind of suffering.”

    Regardless of intent, officers' descriptions of the rescue efforts to save Murphy paint a dire picture of his last moments. He died two hours after the shooting.

    “[I told him] I just need you to hang in there and he just, kinda, teeth clinched almost like he's angry, he tells me, ‘I’m trying to breathe,”’ said Phoenix police Sgt. Jacquelyn Wagaman, who sped Murphy to the hospital in the back of her squad car.

    The jury must decide whether the case is eligible for the death penalty before the sentencing phase can begin.

    http://www.kpho.com/story/29612728/d...ted-cop-killer
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #4
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Convicted Phoenix police officer killer trial moves into penalty phase

    By FOX 10 News Staff

    PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A jury is still deciding the fate of a valley man who was convicted of murdering a Phoenix Police officer.

    The jury decided that Danny Martinez is eligible for the death penalty in the murder of Officer Travis Murphy.

    Officer Murphy was shot ten times while responding to a call of shots fired. Now the jury must decide whether Martinez should die for his crimes, or spend the rest of his natural life in prison.

    In court Danielle Murphy, the wife of Travis Murphy spoke to the jury for quite some time. They describe first meeting Travis on a blind date in 2004. Two years later they got married and then had two young children. It was a picture perfect family until Murphy was suddenly gunned down while on duty.

    On Tuesday, she told the jury about having to raise her children without their father.

    Fallen Officer Travis Murphy's widow Danielle spoke to the jury about her husband and the passion he had for the job.

    "He loved his job so much, he loved caring for people in the community that couldn't care for themselves," said Danielle Murphy.

    Murphy was 29 when he was gunned down in May of 2010 by 35-year-old Danny Martinez.

    Danielle broke down when she described saying goodbye to her husband at the hospital.

    "Not a final kiss, not a final look into his eyes, not a final moment of our hearts touching through our skin, it was the toughest thing I've ever had to see or do," said Danielle.

    She told the jury Travis loved being a father to his two kids, a daughter who was just 2-years-old, and a son only 2-weeks-old when Travis died.

    Describing what she calls heartbreaking moments when her young children talk about seeing their dad again.

    "Another one of those moments comes to mind, it was the day Cody told me he wished he could build a rocket ship that could fly through the clouds to go see daddy in heaven, what am I supposed to say to that little boy? He longs to grasp that special bond that only a father and son can share," said Danielle.

    Danielle says her faith and family have helped her get through the past five years. The jury will hear more Wednesday from more of Murphy's family as they begin deliberating the punishment for Danny Martinez.

    http://www.fox10phoenix.com/story/29...-death-penalty
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #5
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Edited:

    Jury considers death penalty in Phoenix officer murder


    By Ben Margiott
    The Republic

    Jurors began hearing arguments in the sentencing phase of the trial for the man convicted of killing a Phoenix police officer Wednesday. The jury will decide if Danny Martinez will get the death penalty.

    Martinez earlier this year was found guilty of murdering Phoenix Officer Travis Murphy in 2010. Tuesday, the jury decided enough aggravating factors exist to make him eligible for the death penalty.

    A sentence isn't expected to come down until at least September. Due to various scheduling conflicts, the jury will hear arguments for about a week in August and a week In September. The sentence will be either the death penalty or natural life in prison.

    http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...alty/30841085/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #6
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    August 14, 2015

    As promised,‘You’ll never walk alone’

    Aug. 10 was an exciting day for her kids, Danielle Murphy said. It was a sad day for Murphy, but it also was a thankful one. Police officers and firefighters from Peoria, Glendale and Phoenix were lined up inside the entrance to Terramar School in Peoria waiting to escort Kaylee and Kody to their classrooms on the first day of school.

    They had fulfilled their promise to Murphy following the murder of her husband, Phoenix Police Officer Travis Murphy, May 26, 2010: “You’ll never walk alone.”

    Travis Murphy was gunned down five years ago as he investigated a call about a suspicious person in a neighborhood near 19th Avenue and Indian School Road.

    Their daughter, Kaylee, was 2 years old, and their son, Kody, was a 2-week-old newborn when tragedy struck. Travis Murphy, who had served four years on the police force, was 29.

    It was the first day of school for hundreds of children walking through the gate and down the sidewalk, then up through the breezeway. As they walked between the officers on both sides of the walkway, they were handed small school supplies, among them pencils and stress balls.

    As the Murphy children walked through, their mother said they asked her if the men in blue knew their daddy.

    She said, “Yes, they do.”

    She confessed she was “obviously feeling the emotion.”

    Danielle Murphy explained that her late husband was shy, timid, and would not appreciate the fanfare for himself, but would appreciate the dedicated attention his family was receiving from fellow officers.

    “This really shows the support and love,” Danielle Murphy said.

    The school day event overshadowed the trial that is now into its third phase – sentencing. The man responsible for Travis Murphy’s death, Danny Ledezma Martinez, was found guilty of first-degree murder July 15. The trial lasted three months, but less than 24 hours after final arguments, the jury reached its verdict.

    In addition to the hundreds of firefighters and police officers, Danielle Murphy’s mother, Glendale resident Shelley Campbell, and grandmother, Ventana Lakes (Peoria) resident Shirley Galligan, were right there beside her. Add to those close family members were members of the Terramar Elementary and Deer Valley Unified School District family.

    http://www.peoriatimes.com/news/arti...ff9a1c81a.html

  7. #7
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    13,014
    Penalty phase verdict reached in Phoenix policeman's killing

    PHOENIX (AP) — An ex-convict convicted of killing a Phoenix police officer in 2010 will find out Wednesday if he'll face the death penalty or life in prison.

    A Maricopa County Superior Court jury reached a verdict Tuesday in the penalty phase of Danny Ledezma Martinez's trial, but the verdict won't be read until 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

    The 36-year-old Martinez was convicted July 15 of two counts of first-degree murder among other charges.

    Jurors previously decided there were circumstances that made Martinez eligible for a possible death sentence as an alternative to natural life in prison.

    Police say 29-year-old Travis Murphy was shot multiple times on May 26, 2010 while responding to a call about a suspicious person.

    Martinez previously served prison sentences on Pima County convictions for aggravated assault and other crimes.

    http://www.sandiego6.com/news/state-news/351200691.html

  8. #8
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    20,875
    Danny Martinez update: Jury sentences man convicted of killing Phoenix officer to life in prison

    By abc15.com staff

    PHOENIX - A Tucson man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the killing of a Phoenix police officer in 2010.

    Danny Martinez was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder in June 2015 for shooting and killing Officer Travis Murphy.

    The jury has sentenced Danny Martinez to life in prison in Count 2. Unable to reach a verdict in Count 1.

    A jury reached their verdict on Tuesday afternoon, but it was not announced in court until Wednesday. The jury sentenced Martinez to life in prison.

    http://www.abc15.com/news/region-pho...medium=twitter
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •