Authorities offer $26,000 reward in Buckeye double homicide cold case

PHOENIX – West Valley authorities are asking the public for help in solving a double homicide and offering a $26,000 reward in the cold case.

Investigators have been trying to find the killers of 28-year-old Michael Martinez and 21-year-old Santana Monique Armijo since their bodies were found north of Interstate 10 near Verrado Way in 2007.

The victims are believed to have been killed at another location and dumped in what was then a desert area. The site has since been developed.

“Someone, maybe several someones, know exactly what happened to Michael and Santana, and they know who’s responsible,” Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall said during a press conference Monday.

“We need them to come forward, their families need them to come forward and help us put some closure on this horrible chapter in their lives.”

Hall said Armjio’s brother was killed while serving in the Army in Iraq 11 months before her death.

“The loss of a son and a daughter in a year is a loss that is so overwhelming and more grief than anybody should ever endure,” he said. “That is why I have authorized the expenditure of $25,000 to be added to the already $1,000 offered by Silent Witness for information leading to an arrest in this case.”

Hall said it’s the largest reward ever offered in Buckeye.

Tips can be submitted anonymously by calling 480-WITNESS (948-6377), 480-TESTIGO (837-8446) for Spanish, or online at silentwitness.org.

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