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Boyfriend Charged With March 29 Slaying

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TBO.com

Published: October 27, 2008

TAMPA - A man in jail on drug charges was charged today with first-degree murder in connection to the March 29 slaying of a Tampa woman, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

Jamie Cruz Rodriguez, 42, of 4415 Carlyle Road, Tampa, has been held without bail in Falkenburg Road Jail since May. He was the boyfriend of Lisa Martinez, 43, who was found dead in her home on March 29 by her 11-year-old son.

Martinez had cuts and bruises on her neck, chest, shoulders and arms, detectives said. Authorities say Martinez was choked to death, and DNA swabs from the wounds linked Rodriguez to the slaying.

A witness told detectives that the night before Martinez was found dead, she and Rodriguez were heard arguing. Another witness told detectives that on the morning of March 29, Rodriguez was seen in his car, parked about a block away from Martinez's Sunshine Circle home.

Rodriguez sped away from the neighborhood and did not stop at the posted stop signs, the sheriff's office said.

Martinez and Rodriguez lived together as a family in Martinez's home, detectives said. Martinez had asked Rodriguez to get out of her house one week before she was slain, the sheriff's office said.

Rodriguez is being held without bail tonight at Falkenburg Road Jail. He was first arrested on a drug charge March 29 at the sheriff's office on Falkenburg Road. Rodriguez was being questioned about Martinez's death when a crack pipe fell out of his pocket, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

Rodriguez was released from jail the next day after posting $2,500 bail. He was arrested again on May 27 and charged with grand theft, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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