Las Cruces jury finds Roswell man guilty of murder in 2016 deadly stabbing

A Las Cruces jury has found Roswell man guilty of second degree murder for the July 2016 stabbing murder of 46-year-old Christopher Wray.

Rodolfo Martinez, 37, testified in his own defense Wednesday, telling jurors he acted in self-defense.

“It wasn’t my intentions to hurt that man,” said Martinez.

Surveillance video from the stabbing death in July 2016 shows one man choking another in the parking lot of a Western Inn near Picacho Avenue and 17th Street. In the video, the man being choked overcomes his attacker and stabs him two dozen times.

“The video will tell you exactly what happened,” Martinez said.

Martinez told the jury he had to stab Wray in self-defense. He said he grabbed a sharp object, which he abandoned after the stabbing.

“I threw it on top of a roof,” Martinez told District Attorney Mark D’Antonio. “I threw it up there because I didn’t want kids to get it.”

Martinez told D’Antonio he had to make a choice between life or death. “I was just trying to survive sir,” Martinez said. “It was him or me.”

Wednesday, Martinez also admitted to abandoning his bloody shirt “the same place (he) threw that freaking knife” and bloody shoes before fleeing the scene. Martinez was found a short distance away by an animal control officer, prosecutors said. He was allegedly covered in blood.

“I didn’t want to get in trouble with the officers,” Martinez said.

DNA tests revealed the blood was that of the victim, according to a forensic pathologist.

When police arrived to the scene on July 1st, 2016, Wray was critically injured, court documents show. Wray was rushed to a hospital where he died one day later.

“I’m not denying that I didn’t kill that man,” Martinez said. “But you know what? It was in self-defense, sir.”

Prosecutors called the verdict a success for the district attorney’s office.

“(Martinez) was trying to paint himself as a man who was righteously defending himself, but his actions were never consistent with that,” said Assistant D.A. Kelly Herson. “I think the three different versions of events he told really highlighted that.”

“His response was way, way, way extreme,” said D.A. Mark D’Antonio. “To stab a person over 24 times as the victim was backing away and avoiding conflict.”

Wray’s sister grew emotional upon hearing the verdict just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

“He always had my back; he was always my protector,” said Misty Wray.

Wray said her brother taught her how to read. She also said he was very protective of her, especially before she started dating.

“He had a really annoying laugh,” Wray joked. “We stayed into some kind of mischief all the time. Just little kid mischief, ice skating on frozen ponds. Things like that. As we grew up, he always had my back.”

Wray said Martinez will deserve every moment of his sentence.

“I want the full sentence,” Wray said. “I want him to do every day. He deserves more.”

Martinez faces up to 19 years in prison: 15 years for the second-degree murder charge and four years for having additional felonies.

“He’s guilty,” Wray said. “He’s guilty of second-degree murder.