MIAMI (Court TV) — A Florida woman asked a judge to dismiss murder charges against her, saying she acted in self-defense when she shot and killed her husband at their home.
Aimee Martinez (Miami-Dade jail)
Aimee Martinez, 39, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her husband, Osmanny Montano, 34. Montano was shot and killed at the couple’s apartment on March 10, 2019. Martinez does not deny pulling the trigger, but said in a motion filed by her attorney that she was in fear for her life when she fired.
In interviews with police, Martinez said she and the victim had been arguing when Montano became “enraged” and threw keys at her. When the victim began “hitting himself in the face” and screaming, Martinez said she fled to the master bedroom. Once there, she pulled a gun from a laundry basket and tried to hide it behind her back.
When Montano noticed she had a gun, Martinez said he tried to take it away by force, prompting her to fire a shot, fearing for her life. She said the bullet struck Montano, but he continued to assault her, so she fired a second shot, which incapacitated him. The two gunshots, which hit Montano in the left chest and neck, proved fatal.
Martinez appeared in court for a “Stand Your Ground” hearing on Friday, where her attorneys argued that she was acting within her rights to protect herself when she killed the victim. In support of their motion, Martinez’s attorneys filed a toxicology report showing that Montano had multiple drugs in his system at the time of his death, including benzodiazepines, Xanax, cocaine, methadone and dextromethorphan.
In Martinez’s 911 call, which prosecutors played in court, the defendant told the dispatcher, “I just had an accident,” and “My husband attacked me,” before “I shot him.” But prosecutors said the evidence doesn’t support Martinez’s version of events. Detective Michael Brajdic testified on Friday that he immediately noticed something strange at the crime scene: a pillow with an apparent gunshot hole through it.
In police interviews, Martinez denied shooting through a pillow, but prosecutors said that the burn marks on the pillow make it clear what happened. “Testing demonstrated that the burn patterns on the pillow recovered from the scene were consistent with the pillow having been folded over the firearm at the time the firearm was discharged.”
Prosecutors also noted that there was no stippling or soot on the victim’s wounds, which they said showed he could not have been shot at close range, as the defendant reported. “‘Stand Your Ground’ law is not carte blanche authority to shoot and kill others,” prosecutor Gabriela Alfaro said.
Martinez’s trial, initially scheduled to begin in October, was delayed after both the defense and prosecution requested more time.
