Joseph Alvarez was 40 and described by family as outgoing and funny. A father of four, he was with his on-and-off girlfriend, 29-year-old Roberta Martinez, on the afternoon of January 18, 2024, in Southeast Albuquerque near Palomas Drive and Ross Avenue SE when a loud argument broke out in their vehicle. A witness reported Alvarez stepped out of the driver’s side, turned back toward the car while still yelling, and held his hands in the air; the witness did not see anything in his hands.

According to the witness, Martinez then shot Alvarez about five times, killing him at the scene. Detectives later found Alvarez had a firearm tucked in his waistband but that his hands were free when he was shot; he was struck by two rounds, including one in the back of the head and one in the back. Martinez told officers at the scene she was sorry and later told a witness Alvarez was trying to kill her. She claimed to detectives she acted in self-defense, alleging prior domestic violence and that Alvarez had beaten her, pointed a gun at her, and pistol-whipped her. Detectives said Martinez showed no significant visible injuries consistent with being pistol-whipped and that some of her statements conflicted with the evidence and the eyewitness account.

Martinez was arrested and charged with an open count of murder. Did anyone know the couple’s routine or witness the argument who hasn’t spoken to investigators?