Pueblo, Colorado – A security guard in Colorado has been arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder after a woman’s body, dismembered and discarded near a creek, was discovered. Solomon X. Martinez, a 26-year-old private security guard, was taken into custody last week and found to have a severed hand in his coat pocket. The Pueblo County Coroner’s Office will release the victim’s identity after notifying her next of kin and will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.
According to the Pueblo Police Department, officers responded to reports of a possible homicide in the area of Fountain Creek on January 10. Upon arriving, they discovered the body of an adult female who was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives from the Crimes Against Persons Unit took charge of the investigation, leading to the arrest of Martinez based on witness statements and other evidence.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by local news outlet The Pueblo Chieftain provided further details about Martinez’s arrest. The document states that Martinez’s roommate spotted him at a car wash wearing blood-stained clothing early on January 9. Martinez allegedly used a pressure washer to clean his hands and then asked his roommate to dig a deep hole for him. Martinez prevented his roommate from getting close to his car trunk, where he rummaged for tools, allegedly moving something large to access them.
According to court documents obtained by KRDO, a friend of the roommate reported that Martinez also asked him to dig a hole. The friend claims to have been with Martinez on January 9 when the defendant stopped his car on Mohawk Road and discarded what appeared to be a woman’s body in the creek next to the road. The friend refused to help Martinez, even after being threatened with a gun.
When authorities apprehended Martinez, they discovered a hand belonging to an adult female in a plastic grocery bag in his jacket pocket. Martinez, however, denied the allegations against him and claimed that he had picked up the victim on the night of January 8. He stated they engaged in sexual acts but parted ways peacefully later that night. Martinez suggested that his roommate’s friend, who borrowed his car, must have found the victim and killed her.
Martinez is being held at the Pueblo County Jail, and his bond has been set at $1 million cash-only. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Wednesday.