TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — An arrest affidavit reveals the man arrested after allegedly stabbing a 48-year-old man to death on Memorial Day off Howard Lane is Jose Fernando Martinez-Ruiz, 32.
The Travis County Sheriff’s Office previously said the body of Jose Vicente Fernandez-Olveda, 48, was found in a building behind a home that day.
According to the arrest affidavit for Martinez-Ruiz, a caller reported just after 11:30 a.m. someone had stabbed and killed his uncle. The caller said the suspect was still on the porch, and he and his mother, the victim’s sister, had barricaded themselves inside the home.
Deputies responded a short while later and found the suspect outside near the garage, according to the affidavit. Martinez-Ruiz was detained, and the affidavit stated he was saying suicidal things.
Martinez-Ruiz was taken to the hospital because he began vomiting blood and had injuries to his hands.
Afterward, the caller and his mother led deputies to a shed near the home where Fernandez-Olveda’s body was found with multiple stab wounds, according to the affidavit. He was pronounced dead on scene.
The caller and mom told deputies Martinez-Ruiz had recently lost his job and apartment, and Fernandez-Olveda allowed him to live with them at the house since May 28. They described Martinez-Ruiz as polite but was recently acting strange and was paranoid due to drug use.
By Sunday, May 30, the family asked Martinez-Ruiz to find another place to live, the affidavit said. Fernandez-Olveda continued to help him, but Martinez-Ruiz’s paranoia escalated into him reportedly stabbing Fernandez-Olveda, according to the family, because he believed Fernandez-Olveda wanted to harm him.
KXAN has reached out to Martinez-Ruiz’s attorney for comment. We will update this story once we hear back.
If you or a loved one is experiencing drug addiction or mental illness, you can reach out for help through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s hotline at 1(800) 662-4357. You can also find treatment online through findtreatment.gov.
