Dad Shot Mom 12 Times at Daughter's Gravesite

A TV reporter followed Emilio Nuñez as he walked behind his ex-wife, Maritza Martin, through the cemetery to their daughter's grave. Days before, Nunez publicly accused Martin's new boyfriend of abusing his daughter, Yoandra.

As the reporter pestered Martin with questions about the accusations, Nunez removed a handgun from his waist and fired into his wife's back head. Over. And over. And over again. 12 shots to the head left Maritza Martin dead.

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Emilio Nunez had never been in his daughter's life, although not by his choice. He and Martin split before Yoandra's birth. Martin met and married another man and did not allow him to see his daughter.

Yoandra passed away in November 1992 shortly after announcing her pregnancy to her mother. The 15-year-old teenager shot herself in the chest with a .25 caliber handgun.

Family and friends informed Nunez of his daughter's death just hours before her funeral. He felt betrayed by Martin. She denied him a relationship with Yoandra and now, denied him a final opportunity to say goodbye.

Nunez Makes Accusations

Weeks later, Nunez came forward with the accusations about his ex-wife's new man. Despite proof of the allegations, the Mexican TV station, Telemundo, picked up the story.

On January 18, Nunez, his wife, and their son visited Yoandra's gravesite with TV reporter Ingrid Cruz. Yoandra was buried at Our Lady Queen of Heavenly Cemetery in North Lauderdale, Florida.

Telemundo planned to air a special show about Yoandra's life and death, including the accusations Nunez made.

An Unexpected Encounter

Unexpectedly, Martin arrived at the cemetery to visit her daughter's grave at the same time. Nunez noticed Martin's car approaching. He walked away from the reporter toward his car. It seemed he was being the bigger person and trying to avoid conflict, except, he walked to his car to retrieve a gun.

As Martin exited her vehicle and walked toward Yoandra's grave, Ingrid Cruz bombarded her with questions regarding her husband's accusations. Martin remained stonefaced and proceeded toward her daughter's grave without speaking a word.

Out of nowhere, Nunez approached behind them. Armed with his 9mm semiautomatic pistol, he opened fire. The cameras rolled as Nunez shot his ex-wife, capturing her murder on film.

Emilio exclaimed, “I should have done it a long time ago,” as he ran from his wife’s deceased body and hopped inside his vehicle. He drove away from the scene, leaving his wife and son at the gravesite.

Ingrid Cruz cried and screamed as she ran toward the station vehicle, cameras still capturing this shocking event.

“A human being died right there in front of me,” she can be heard saying on the video. “We couldn’t do anything.”

Maritza Martin was buried beside her daughter.

Life in Prison

Police caught up to Nunez and took him into custody.

Found guilty of first-degree murder, Nunez was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. He currently serves his time at Florida's Everglades Correctional Institution.

This story is very heartbreaking. I wish I could find more information online, although the case is pretty old, and sparse information comes up in my Google searches. Leave links in the comments if you know of any good documentaries about this story.

My condolences to the families of Maritza Martin and Yoandra Nunez.

Sources:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9305/yoandra-taimir-nunez

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1993/01/19/police-man-kills-ex-wife-as-camera-rolls/

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