Melissa Ann Martinez, 21 and living in Oakland, California, was fatally shot on April 23, 2014, in the Sobrante Park neighborhood. The killing followed a series of escalating disputes with her neighbor, Shawn Martin. Martin told police he shot Martinez in self-defense, saying she was reaching for a weapon while seated in her car, but prosecutors maintained Martinez was unarmed and framed the shooting as premeditated.

Martin had a criminal history that included a felony marijuana conviction and a prior felon in possession of a firearm conviction; he told investigators he carried a gun for protection in the neighborhood. On the night of the shooting he called 911 but gave inconsistent accounts, at one point claiming to be a witness and attempting to shift suspicion to his landlord. Prosecutors introduced evidence Martin had previously threatened Martinez and behaved aggressively toward her; defense pointed to high levels of methamphetamine in Martinez’s system as suggesting she might have been the aggressor.

After four days of jury deliberation, Martin was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 40 years to life. Did anyone in Sobrante Park know Melissa or witness the final confrontation?