SOLEDAD — A Monterey County jury has found Noel Ledesma, 44, formerly of Soledad and Yuma, Ariz., guilty of first-degree murder in the 2010 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Yvette Martinez, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Martinez and Ledesma had dated in early 2010 but broke up while remaining in contact. By mid-September, Martinez had begun seeing another man. On Oct. 9, 2010, she went out with friends and her boyfriend while Ledesma repeatedly called and texted her, according to the DA’s Office in a press release Feb. 11.
“Ledesma became angrier that Martinez was not responding to him. He told her that his friends were ridiculing him and laughing at him,” the release said.
After midnight on Oct. 10, Ledesma reportedly waited at Martinez’s Greenfield home. She never made it inside. Later that evening, her car was found burning on Highway 198, and her body was discovered in the trunk. An autopsy determined she died of strangulation, and her remains had to be identified through dental records due to fire damage.
Monterey County Sheriff’s Office detectives initially suspected Ledesma, citing suspicious behavior after the killing, his history of domestic violence and text messages with Martinez. Ledesma claimed he was home and at a family party when the car fire occurred, and his brother supported his alibi. Investigators were initially unable to disprove it.
In 2020, District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni created the Cold Case Task Force to investigate unsolved homicides in the county, including Martinez’s case. The task force received a federal grant in 2022 that allowed forensic testing and investigative work.
In 2024, cell phone data analysis showed Ledesma was near Martinez’s home for hours before she returned, contradicting his alibi and showing he was not at the family party when the car was burned, the release said.
Ledesma will be sentenced on March 12 and faces 25 years to life in prison.
