Maria Isabel Duarte, 31, was found dead on April 12, 2015, in Desert Hot Springs, California. She was discovered face-down on a sidewalk near Palm Drive and Pierson Boulevard shortly before 3 a.m., having sustained a gunshot wound to the chest; she was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.

Investigators learned Duarte had a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend Juan Garza and interviewed him, but attention focused on Juan’s brother, Jesus Garza Jr. Multiple witnesses said they heard a gunshot and saw Garza walking away from the scene. Garza’s brother testified Jesus left their apartment around midnight and returned about an hour later acting suspiciously and admitting to having done something stupid. Fellow inmates later reported Garza had confessed, and allegations surfaced that he had been paid by another ex-girlfriend to kill Duarte.

Jesus Garza Jr. was arrested in 2016 while serving a sentence for second-degree robbery, charged with Duarte’s murder, and later pleaded guilty to one felony count of murder. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. If anyone knew Maria Duarte or has information about her death, please share what you can.