SOLEDAD — Former Soledad resident Noel Aguilera Ledesma was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on March 12 for the 2010 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Yvette Martinez, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced.
A jury convicted Ledesma, 44, of first-degree murder in February.
Martinez, who lived in Greenfield, was found dead in the trunk of her own vehicle after it was set on fire along a remote stretch of Highway 198 near Priest Valley Road. An autopsy determined she died from strangulation, and she was identified through dental records.
Investigators suspected Ledesma due to his behavior after Martinez’s disappearance, a history of domestic violence with another partner, and text messages on the night she went missing. Ledesma claimed he was at home and at a family party when the car fire occurred, and one of his brothers supported his alibi. Investigators were initially unable to disprove it.
The case was reopened after the District Attorney’s Office created its Cold Case Task Force in July 2020, in collaboration with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. In 2022, the task force received a $535,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to support forensic testing and investigative work on cold cases. Using the funding, the task force hired experts to re-examine 2010 cellphone data, which helped show that Ledesma’s alibi was false.
Seven members of Martinez’s family provided victim impact statements at sentencing, and more than 40 people attended to support them.
