Jose Medina and his wife Rachael Martinez were shot and killed while in their car. Family members gathered to remember them. NBC 7’s Dave Summers reports.
San Diego police homicide detectives are releasing the names of the people involved in Wednesday morning's double murder downtown and the man thought to be responsible.
Husband, 39-year-old Jose Medina, and wife, 31-year-old Rachael Martinez were ambushed. Both were shot and killed while waiting in their car for a court hearing.
The two were asking the court for a permanent restraining order against 26-year-old Christopher Farrell.
After allegedly killing the couple, Farrell was shot and killed in a gun battle with Harbor Police officers in Little Italy.
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A sidewalk shrine is just starting to be built at Union and Ash streets, where the couple was killed. Family members say they brought candles and flowers to show how much they care, and they brought holy water to sprinkle on the ground.
The sadness of tragic deaths of Jose Medina and Rachael Martinez is compounded by the four children that survive them. The youngest are under the age of 5.
"I hugged my little nephews and carried them home last night," Rachael Martinez’s sister, Charlene Martinez, said. "That actually made me feel like very sad because they don’t have their mom to give them a good night kiss. They don’t have their dad to give them a good night kiss."
Charlene Martinez and her husband are taking care of the four kids while carrying the burden of their own grief.
“They can’t believe its true. Last night, I was awake until maybe 3 o’clock in the morning because the babies were up and crying,” Charlene Martinez said.
Rachael Martinez and Jose Medina were together for 12 years. Jose Medina sired the two youngest children and raised Rachael Martinez’s older two as if they were his own.
Jose Medina’s brother could not hold back the tears at the family vigil Thursday night.
“I never imagined that my brother and his partner would die in that manner. They didn’t deserve it. They loved each other very much. My brother fought to have his family together,” Raul Medina said.
Jose Medina worked construction. He was a foreman on a drywall crew. Rachael Martinez was a private home caregiver. The two catered many family gatherings.
“They’ll give anything to anyone. If you are in need, they will be right there to help you. They will give you the last dollar. They have just to give you something," Charlene Martinez said.
Police say the two were killed trying to acquire a permanent restraining order against Farrell. He was a contracted security guard for MTS, with whom Rachael Martinez had a brief affair. Charlene Martinez says while police were investigating the alleged sexual assault of Rachael Martinez after the breakup, they should have confiscated all his weapons.
There is, at the moment, no getting over the loss of her younger sister and brother-in-law.
“I get my own moments when I decide to let go and start crying for my sister,” Charlene Martinez said.
Charlene Martinez’s hope is that the children have a chance at a happy and successful life despite the untimely deaths of their parents.
