“I’m never coming back”

Marbella Martinez was murdered less than six months after she was sworn in as a corrections officer with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office

The Utah father accused by police of killing his deputy’s daughter allegedly texted his brother saying he had “made a huge mistake, an unforgivable sin,” according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala, 54, allegedly texted his sibling about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, the day before police discovered the body of his daughter, 25-year-old Marbella Martinez, at about 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 1, in the couple’s Tooele home, the apparent death affidavit said.

After the text about the “unforgivable sin,” Martinez-Ayala allegedly texted, “Now I’m too scared and I don’t know what to do. I think I’m never coming back,” the affidavit states.

Officers found Martinez’s body “lying on the bed, covered with a blanket up to her neck,” the affidavit said. She had been strangled.

Martinez was killed less than six months after she was sworn in as a jail guard with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Martinez-Ayala, who authorities say fled the country after his daughter’s death, was charged on Friday, Sept. 6, with murder, two counts of obstruction of justice, stalking a cohabiting partner, unlawful possession of a debit card, unlawful use of a debit card and unlawful possession of another person’s identification.

Related: Utah Police Officer’s Father Charged with Stalking, Murder Before Presumably Fleeing the Country

“We as a department are working around the clock with numerous agencies to arrest Hector for what he did,” Tooele City Police Chief Colbey Bentley tells PEOPLE. “We have seized numerous items of interest to Hector, including his vehicle. As we strive to bring justice to Deputy Marbella Martinez, we implore anyone who may have useful information or is actively helping to hide Hector to do the right thing and help us arrest Hector for what he did.”

According to the affidavit, authorities allege that Martinez-Ayala became increasingly defensive of his daughter and had been stalking her for months.

“Text message reports show that defendant became increasingly obsessed and controlling with the victim,” the affidavit alleges. “The text message reports show that defendant’s text messages to the victim were more like those of a jealous lover than a father.”

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Prosecutors said Martinez found a bag containing her underwear in his room and Martinez-Ayala had placed a tracking device on her vehicle to find her.

Authorities said he used the tracking device to find her and her romantic interest at a hiking area called Bates Canyon on July 29. After the incident, Martinez reportedly stayed at a hotel but returned home on July 31. She was last seen on surveillance video at her home at 12:23 a.m. that day. Authorities said Martinez-Ayala arrived home at 2:17 a.m.

“The last camera notification on the victim’s phone occurred at 2:17 p.m., meaning the cameras were either turned off or disconnected from the internet at that time,” the affidavit states. “Any video after the suspect’s arrival at 2:17 p.m. on July 21, 2024, was either deleted or never existed due to the camera being turned off after his arrival.”

According to the affidavit, Martinez-Ayala texted his brother more than two hours later.

“My brother, you know how much I love you, I made a big mistake, an unforgivable sin, now I’m too scared and I don’t know what to do. I think I’ll never come back,” he is said to have texted.

Authorities alleged that Martinez-Ayala threw away his daughter’s cell phone before driving to Salt Lake City Airport. He flew to San Francisco and Houston, then used his brother’s identification “when he landed in another country and was seen on surveillance footage,” the affidavit said. “The suspect’s whereabouts are unknown, but his last known location was outside of the United States.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Tooele County Dispatch Center at 435-882-5600, option 1.

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