'Obsessed' Dad Accused Of Stalking, Killing His Sheriff's Deputy Daughter Before Fleeing U.S.

A Utah man whom authorities described as becoming “increasingly obsessed and controlling” over his adult daughter, a 25-year-old sheriff’s deputy, is on the run after he was accused of killing her last month.

Hector Ramon Martinez-Ayala, 54, was charged last week with offenses including murder and stalking a current or former cohabitant after his daughter, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Marbella Martinez, was discovered dead on Aug. 1.

Martinez’s body was found “lying on top of the bed, covered with a blanket up to her neck,” in the home she shared with her father in Tooele, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by HuffPost.

Officers who discovered Martinez’s body called her death suspicious after seeing blood in her mouth and what looked like fingernail claw marks on her face and neck, according to the affidavit.

The state medical examiner’s office determined Martinez’s death was caused by strangulation.

Police described text messages that Martinez received from her father as “more of the nature of a jealous lover than a father.” Authorities also cited more disturbing incidents involving Martinez’s father and how he allegedly behaved toward his adult child.

At one point, after Martinez found a bag of her underwear with her used feminine hygiene products inside her dad’s room, she confronted him via text message and he promised he would “change” and stop the behavior, the affidavit said.

But in July, the 54-year-old placed a tracking device on his daughter’s car while she was out of the country, according to the affidavit. That same month, he allegedly tracked down Martinez and her romantic partner in a neighboring town.

For two days after that, Martinez did not return home and instead stayed at a