By Police1 Staff
PHOENIX — The man who killed Officer Travis Murphy in 2010 was sentenced to life in prison without parole, AZ Central reported.
Danny Ledezma Martinez, 36, was sentenced Friday for the May 26, 2010 killing.
Other officers and Murphy’s family members were emotional as they argued for Martinez’s sentence.
Murphy, 29, was killed while responding to a call of a suspicious person. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds. The gunman, Martinez, was found naked and armed with an AR-15 in a shed near the location of the shooting.
Murphy’s partner, Jillian Mahlmeister, told the court it was the worst night of her life.
“It’s a vision I will never forget,” Mahlmeister said. “Warm blood poured out of his leg. The look in his blue eyes. It’s been almost six years. I close my eyes and still see that vision. I have spent many sleepless nights reliving it.”
Murphy left behind a wife, a two-year-old girl and a newborn boy.
“I can promise you that none of us have been the same,” Murphy’s widow, Danielle, told the publication. “They’ll never know his voice or his laugh; they’ll never get tucked into bed with a lullaby. I might never have complete happiness again. The only happiness or hope I know is that he (Martinez) will die in prison.”
Martinez was also sentenced to serve an additional consecutive term of 65.75 years for other offenses related to the incident. Originally, a death sentence was sought by prosecutors, but the option was eliminated after the count prevented a retrial on one of the first-degree murder counts.