Content warning: This article mentions details about domestic violence.
A woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend during a violent domestic dispute may have accidentally revealed key details. Those details would later change the course of her defense during a lengthy police investigation. The chilling case was featured in a True Crime episode on YouTube, which drew mixed reactions to the unexpected twist.
The clip began with an intense police interrogation, during which she revealed shocking details. Roberta Martinez, 29, was arrested after fatally shooting Joseph Alvarez. The shooting took place outside a vehicle in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on January 18, 2024.
She was charged with an open count of murder after he was declared dead outside Palomas Drive and Ross Avenue SE. Martinez initially told police she acted in self-defense after Alvarez hit her and repeatedly threatened to kill her while holding a gun.
The two were reportedly in a relationship and physically fighting inside the car before the shooting. Alvarez allegedly punched her face a few times and hit her hand during the altercation before driving away while the couple remained inside the car.
She also claimed she spit on him, which made him furious. After that, he rubbed ice cream on her face. The 29-year-old admitted she got her gun from a friend and never intended to shoot him. At first, Martinez’s story sounded like a chaotic struggle stemming from a toxic relationship. The case drew additional scrutiny because Alvarez was a convicted felon who carried illegal firearms and had a history of violence and abuse.
Alvarez allegedly punched her face a few times and hit her hand during the altercation inside the car. She admitted she lost control when his anger escalated and he put the gun to her head, threatening to shoot.
“I shot him because I didn’t know what he was going to do. He went back to — it looked like he was going to pull his gun out again,” Martinez said.
Martinez heavily relied on the point during police questioning that Alvarez was turning back toward her to draw his gun, and the fear that he would shoot her prompted her to fire. However, the turning point came when a deeper investigation challenged Roberta Martinez’s confession. A detective reportedly informed her that a witness claimed Alvarez had his hands raised during the shooting.
Authorities also revealed that he suffered gunshot wounds to the back of his body and head.”Do you know why this witness would tell us that his hands were up?” the police officer asked Martinez, who was seen crying hysterically while talking to him in an isolated room.
“The turning point came when Martinez admitted that she had already tried to pull the trigger before the fatal shots were fired.”
Later in the questioning, Martinez appeared stunned by the forensic findings, which did not align with her testimony. The truth made her self-defense claim legally invalid, converting the case into a homicide prosecution.
The Albuquerque Police Department homicide detectives responded to the shooting at 5 p.m. after they were alerted about the tragic incident. They found Alvarez leaving from the driver’s side of the car with his gun in his waistband. His hands were allegedly free during the shooting.
During the trial, attorneys representing Roberta Martinez argued that the 29-year-old had been a prolonged victim of Joseph Alvarez’s long-term abuse and threats, which triggered her to act in self-defense, but prosecutors argued the danger had passed by the time Alvarez left the vehicle and that the shooting no longer qualified as self-defense.
A jury later convicted Martinez on a lesser charge tied to the shooting, and a judge sentenced her to six years in prison for the crime. The reduced sentence reportedly reflected evidence presented about the abusive nature of the relationship.
