SALT LAKE CITY — The search continues for the man police believe murdered his daughter, Deputy Marbella Martinez.
It's been twenty days since 54-year-old Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala was charged with multiple counts in the death of his daughter.
Marcela Martinez is absolutely heartbroken. She said she and her sister were born only one year apart, and grew up as if they were twins.
"Me and my sisters were very close. We talked every single day and she would always tell me everything. Not a day would go by that we didn't talk," she said.
Marcela watched her older sibling fulfill her dream in January by becoming a corrections officer with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
"She told me becoming a police officer she would feel more independent and she would feel more in control of her life," she said.
What she couldn't control: their father, Martinez-Ayala. Investigators said texts from him were "more of a nature of a jealous lover than a father."
"They had a complicated relationship. All I know is that he was controlling and manipulative," said Marcela Martinez.
According to the indictment, officers believe Martinez-Ayala strangled his daughter on July 31st. It also says that day, he texted his brother, "I made a big mistake, an unforgiveable sin."
"Losing her is definitely the worst thing that's ever happened to me. I couldn't believe the man who gave birth to us was responsible for her death," she said.
Police believe he's out of the country. Marcela Martinez prays he'll be caught or turn himself in.
"We just keep praying she gets the justice she deserves," she said.
