A Durango man suspected of killing his wife was charged Friday with first-degree murder.
Silvino Martinez-Perez, 35, faces life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of the charge. He is being held in the La Plata County Jail on $500,000 bail.
According to an arrest affidavit, Martinez-Perez called 911 at 12:01 a.m. April 17 to say he killed his wife, Crystal Martinez-Perez, 37, inside their home at the Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park, 907 Lightner Creek Road (County Road 207).
Dispatchers instructed Martinez-Perez to wait outside the house until the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office arrived.
Deputies found him standing on the road when they arrived. He was arrested without incident.
His wife was found lying on the living room floor, without a pulse. Deputies administered CPR until medics arrived, at which time she was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
During an interview with sheriff’s investigators, Martinez-Perez said he strangled his wife and performed a sexual act on her body, according to an arrest affidavit. Their three children, ages 5, 6 and 9, were asleep inside a bedroom at the time, he said.
In addition to being charged with murder, Martinez-Perez is charged with three counts of child abuse and one count of abusing a corpse.
shane@durangoherald.com
