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Murder Suspect Claims Innocence

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By JOSH POLTILOVE

jpoltilove@tampatrib.com

Published: November 15, 2008

TAMPA - Jamie Cruz Rodriguez said he loved his fiancee and would never have hurt her.

Hillsborough County deputies disagree. They charged him last month with first-degree murder in Lisa Lynn Martinez's slaying March 29.

"I loved her very much. I do love her," he said during a recent phone interview from Falkenburg Road Jail. "We were engaged to be married. We were engaged Christmas Day to be married sometime in July. It's a sad tragedy. ... I am innocent. We'll prove it in court that I am innocent."

Martinez's family refuses to believe his story. They say he is dangerous. They wish they could have done something more to protect her.

Martinez and Rodriguez lived together as a family in her home.

One week before she was killed, Martinez had asked Rodriguez to get out, the sheriff's office said.

One night in March, Martinez's 11-year-old son heard her and Rodriguez arguing, and he went back to sleep without hearing Rodriguez leave. When the boy woke up, he found his mother dead downstairs, Hillsborough County deputies say.

Martinez, 42, had bruises on her neck, chest, arms and shoulders. Her underwear tested positive for Rodriguez's DNA, investigators say.

A witness told detectives that about 8 a.m. March 29, Rodriguez was parked about a block from Martinez's home. Rodriguez sped away, the sheriff's office said.

Rodriguez, a 42-year-old welder from Tampa, has been in jail since May on other charges. In October, he was charged with first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery in connection with Martinez's slaying.

Rodriguez said he was at his apartment when Martinez was attacked. He said he doesn't have any idea why someone would strangle her.

The morning Martinez's body was found, he said, he was at a beach.

He said her death has been hell for him. It cost him his fiancee, custody of his children, his apartment and his job, he said.

"A lot of people thought I was taking her away from them, and it wasn't true," he said. "A lot of people know me from being around Lisa and know how much of a gentleman I am."

Laura Martinez said Rodriguez is making himself out to be a good guy but is anything but.

"Lisa was the type of person that thought she could change everybody. She thought she could help everybody. She was great, great, great," daughter-in-law Laura Martinez said. "He had her blinded. Everybody tried telling her that he wasn't right for her. We tried to tell her how controlling he was. ... A lot of people are angry and mad at themselves because a lot of us knew."

Researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691.

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