Her Voice - The Attempted Murder of Maria Del Carmen Gomez

Episode # 49 - Maria Del Carmen Gomez

[Shaun] 

In the early hours of the evening on March 21st, 2012, police were called to the scene of a horrific and chaotic attack on Craig Road in North Las Vegas. The 911 calls indicated that a man had gone on a rampage attacking a woman with a machete and then had started cutting his own throat in a parking lot.

[John] 

Maria Del Carmen Gomez was lying in the parking lot outside of her place of work in a pool of blood, next to her apparent attacker, who was also bleeding profusely from his neck.  What happened that night was incredibly shocking, but it wasn't this that brought Maria to her end. This extremely resilient woman hadn't even started the hardest fight of her life yet.

(Music - Pause for 8 seconds)

[Shaun] 

Hi and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, as well as missing persons and unsolved cases. I’m your host, Shaun, and with me as always, is the one and only John.

[John] 

I am the only John in the room.

[Shaun] 

I promise we haven't covered this case before, but you might think so when you start to hear some of the details. We always try to start with background on the victim, always focusing on them and the people they leave behind, but too many times, there isn't much information to be found, especially in a case like this when it happened more than a decade ago. The media loves to talk about cases like this, and of course tends to focus on the grisly details, not the people behind the tragedy. Do you want to get us started with what we know about Maria?

[John] 

Sure, of course. Well, we know that Maria Del Carmen Gomez was born on February 5th, 1959, so that made her 53 in 2012. We know she has at least one sibling, Victor, and a niece who passed away from Leukemia at age 12 (that was Victor’s daughter). From her memorial video, there’s not much to be learned, but it looks like she had other siblings who aren't mentioned anywhere in any of the articles about her. 

Even worse many of the articles about her are now gone, but we did find a few that were archived with the Review-Journal and also on the Internet Archive (the Wayback machine)

We do know that she cared deeply for her brother Victor who had had two strokes. She worked two jobs, one as a clerk in a grocery store, and a second job as a housekeeper. By working two jobs she was able to offer her brother a lot of support and provided care for him. 

We also know she was a very positive and upbeat person who cared deeply for others. We have some examples of that as we tell you about what happened to her.

[Shaun] 

You’ve come to expect this, of course, but Maria had a boyfriend named Armando Vergara Martinez. He was born on April 24th, 1962 in Acapulco Mexico, so he was a few years younger than Maria. He had two daughters from a previous marriage. There’s some question about what he did for work with some of the reporting saying he was a landscaper, and his eventual arrest report (spoiler) saying he was unemployed. 

In 2010, Maria reported Armando to the police for attacking her, leading to him spending 41 days in jail after being convicted of misdemeanor strangulation. According to Maria, after that, she left Armando for good.

We talk about that a lot too, and you’ll remember that strangulation is one of the strongest indicators that a domestic violence victim is at risk of being murdered by her partner. The risk is 700% higher of being murdered if their partner strangles them.

This wasn't Armando’s first incident of domestic violence. He also abused his first wife Josie Ortiz. Unfortunately, we don't know the details about Armando’s first marriage, but violence was clearly a pattern with him.

[John] 

Maria moved on after the attack thankfully, and two years later, she was in a relationship with a new man named Domingo Cortez. On the evening of March 21st, 2012 Maria was working one of her jobs at the Green Valley Grocery in North Las Vegas. While she was working, Domingo showed up and sat at the gaming machines waiting for her to finish up so they could go home.

In case you didn't realize, places like grocery stores have what are basically small casinos in them with a handful of gaming machines, such as slots and video poker. It's one of the weird little things you only see in Las Vegas.

For some reason, on that day, Armando ALSO showed up at the grocery store, apparently he had brought Maria food according to an account in court documents. So he brought her the food then headed to his car, and shortly after Maria headed outside,

Knowing the history of violence, Domingo followed her outside, and he quickly heard her shouting his name, and when he found her, he was horrified to see that Armando had apparently snapped and was attacking Maria with a machete (a large bladed knife like tool with an 18” blade usually used to clear dense vegetation in forests.. but it’s also an intimidating and easily deadly weapon)

Maria was on the ground, and seriously injured. When Domingo got close, Armando said (I'm paraphrasing a little here) “This is all your fault”, and then proceeded to start cutting his own neck with a box cutter

There were other witnesses to the attack including a coworker who witnessed Armando hitting Maria and told him that the police had been called, and a woman named Janae who was parked nearby, and got to Maria before Domingo and was pleading with Armando to stop before running to also call the police

[Shaun] 

North Las Vegas police arrived quickly at the horrifying scene and found Maria on the ground in a pool of blood. Her head had been hit with the machete so badly that her skull was broken, and her brain was visible in places, and both of her hands were nearly severed from her wrists.

It was an absolutely horrific sight. She was brought to UMC which is the only Level 1 trauma center in Las Vegas. The police stated in court documents they were unable to photograph her injuries due to the number of physicians treating her and her need for immediate emergency surgery.

She underwent surgery to repair her damaged skull and the 5-hour surgery to reattach her hands was performed by Dr Carl Williams, the first African American hand and plastic surgeon in the Las Vegas area. He was the first black plastic surgeon in the US to have 3 board certifications. He focused on hand surgery because as he put it “I realized that if people don't have their hands… they can't even eat by themselves”

He moved to Las Vegas in the 1980’s because there was a very urgent need for that specialty here.

One of the other UMC trauma surgeons described how Dr. Williams worked painstakingly for hours stabilizing fractures and reconnecting ligaments, tendons, and nerves so she might be able to use her hands again. He said “The patience and sewing skill that takes is almost incomprehensible”

Dr. Willaims also said “Maria is such a nice woman who has suffered far too much. She reminded me of my mother who was also the victim of domestic abuse”

Armando was also brought to UMC due to his self-inflicted injuries and was taken into custody by the police on March 23rd. He had two cuts on his neck, but neither one was life-threatening. 

While she was in the hospital recovering from her extensive injuries, her friends, the doctors, and the medical staff all reported to the Review-Journal that Maria was consistently in good spirits and always smiling, and never complained about the pain she was in even though it was obvious she was in pain.

According to Maria, she dumped Armando immediately after the violent incident in 2010, where he had strangled her. She made it clear that their romantic relationship was over, but she said that the two of them would still speak to each other once in a while. She said that he had recently asked for her help in finding a job, and she had invited him to come and apply for a job where she worked. 

[John] 

Armando lived with his parents (along with his two daughters). His parents called the police on the morning after the attack because they were deeply disturbed by what they found in their house when they woke up. They told officers that they went to bed on the night of March 21st, and Armando was sitting on the couch but when they woke up this morning, he was gone, and so was their car.

They found a notebook on the table with a note that read “Dear mom, Forgive me for all the bad I have done, I know I am doing wrong for what I am going to do with Maria. I could never accept the betrayal that she did to me with another person. She is with me and also with another person. I could not support that. Tell my kids to forgive me for what I did. I love them very much.” (The note was written in Spanish and this is a translation that was offered to the investigating officers by his family).

His mother also observed him sharpening a machete so based on all of this, they knew they had to call the police because they thought he might have hurt Maria.

The police also spoke to his brother who told them that Armando “is very violent” and that 2 years ago he had had a domestic violence incident in which he had put a knife to marias throat. He said that it was he who finally convinced his parents to call 911 

Maria spent the next few months as an advocate and spokesperson for tougher laws against domestic violence. She famously said “If I can't use my hands, I’ll use my voice”

In August 2012, after her horrible ordeal, she got the heartbreaking news that she was in the advanced stages of uterine cancer which had affected her diaphragm, ovaries, uterus, and lymph nodes. Initially, the doctors felt that although it was caught late, it was still curable. 

She underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and a local nonprofit named Safe Faith United (which unfortunately doesn't exist anymore) helped her cover her expenses during this time. Even though she was undergoing cancer treatment, she was still worried about her brother and how he would get by without her income. As for Armando, she told friends “god will take care of him.”

Armando was charged with three felonies:

• Attempted murder with a deadly weapon 
• Battery with the use of a deadly weapon, resulting in substantial bodily harm constituting domestic violence; and
• Mayhem - which is an uncommon legal term and involves unlawfully maiming, disfiguring, or disabling another person.

[Shaun] 

Shortly after his arrest, the reporting was that Armando was planning to plead guilty at his arraignment. Maria, who at the time was still recovering, was prepared to testify. At his initial arraignment on April 30, 2012, his attorney asked for a continuance, since he had just been assigned to the case and the continuance was granted. 

On May 31, 2012, Armando pleaded not guilty to all charges, which was a surprise to some people because the rumors were that he was going to accept responsibility and plead guilty. 

Sadly, Maria passed away on September 5th, 2012 at the age of 53 from complications due to her cancer, fully 18 months before the case went to trial.

In October of 2012, Armando, apparently without his attorney’s assistance or knowledge, filed a “Guilty Plea Agreement” with the court where he offered to plead guilty to “domestic violence with injury” and to accept a sentence of 2 to 5 years. 

Evidently, this was not something the State had agreed to, and Armando’s attorney told the Court that he was trying to help negotiate a plea deal, but the process was not working, and he asked to withdraw as Armando’s attorney. 

Armando would withdraw this “plea” shortly thereafter, and the trial began in February 2014. 

[John] 

On the day the trial began, Maria’s family, friends, loved ones, and supporters gathered for a rally on the front steps of the Clark County Justice Center. Even though Maria was gone and wouldn't be there, their goal was to make sure her story did not fade into the background, and that all victims and survivors of domestic violence felt seen and supported. 

The trial only lasted two days. The prosecution had many eyewitnesses to the event, and the question of whether or not Armando attacked Maria was not even at issue in the trial.

In fact, Armando conceded to the charges of mayhem and domestic battery with a weapon. Instead, his attorneys’ strategy was to show that Armando never intended to kill Maria. 

Their primary argument was that Armando was too intoxicated to know what he was doing. He just didn’t have the mental ability to form the intent to kill because he was so drunk. 

This is similar to the case of Makayla Rhiner who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Brandon Hanson in 2017. If you remember, in that case, part of Hanson’s defense was that he was depressed and on prescription medication which made him unable to “make plans” and therefore unable to commit premeditated murder. In that case, the court wasn't swayed by that argument.

To support their case, the defense only offered one witness – Armando. 

Armando testified that he was upset that Maria had broken up with him and that she was seeing someone else. He explained that he got off of work and drank a few beers, and then went to a bar and had a few more drinks. 

He also testified that the note he had left for his parents was written in his handwriting, but claimed he had no recollection of writing it. He admitted that he assaulted Maria, and even became emotional on the stand. But he said he did not remember wanting to kill her or what had happened that night.

By admitting to the charges of mayhem and assault, the defense claimed that Armando had taken responsibility for what he had done, which is debatable at best. 

[Shaun] 

DA Marc DiGiacamo made a dramatic and passionate closing statement, describing and pantomiming what Maria had endured. He spared no detail, and definitively stated to the jury "He admitted to you what he can't deny. It's irrelevant whether he remembers committing the crime. It matters whether he intended to kill."

He stated that “being blackout drunk” doesn’t give anyone an excuse to do what Armando had done. He told the jury that the only question was whether or not Armando had attacked Maria with the machete. That alone showed that he had intended to kill her, and of course, on that count, they had quite a few eyewitnesses. 

During the prosecution’s closing arguments, one of Maria’s supporters clapped when the DA asked the jury to find Armando guilty of all charges. Armando’s attorneys moved for a mistrial, but Judge Abbi Silver did not grant that request, and she stated that if she had known who the clapper was, she would have jailed that person for contempt of court. 

The jury’s verdict was unsurprising given the evidence presented - Armando was found guilty on all three counts, including attempted murder. 

Judge Silver sentenced him to 26 to 65 years. 

[John] 

Armando, of course, attempted to appeal the verdict. Surprisingly, he raised several legal arguments in his appeal, all of which were rejected by the Supreme Court of Nevada. For a case that seemed so straight forward about the defendant’s guilt and for a trial that only lasted 2 days, there were a lot of things that he wanted the Appeals court to review. ​ 

One interesting argument he tried to raise was that his conviction was Double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is a principle in American law that prevents a person from being tried twice for the same crime after being acquitted or convicted. The 5th Amendment to the Constitution provides protection and safeguards against repeated prosecutions for the same offense.

Armando argued that his dual convictions for mayhem as well as battery resulting in substantial bodily harm violated double jeopardy. ​ The court disagreed, stating that each machete stabbing constituted a distinct act of violence resulting in separate injuries, therefore justifying separate convictions. ​

He contended that amending the charges on the second day of the trial violated due process and the Sixth Amendment notice requirement. ​ The court found no merit at all in that argument, noting that he had adequate notice of the charges and failed to demonstrate any prejudice or miscarriage of justice. ​

He also objected to the admission of certain expert testimonies and medical records, however, the court ruled that the district court’s decision was reasonable

Another key argument was that the media attention and protestors during the trial prejudiced the jury. It is difficult to say whether or not that influenced the jury’s decision, but the court found there was no error and also noted that Armando did not apply for a change of venue, which is required under Nevada law. ​

[Shaun] 

Armando claimed prosecutorial misconduct also, including misstatements of evidence and law. ​ The court concluded that any misstatements were either harmless or did not rise to the level of plain error. ​

A plain error is a clear and obvious mistake made during a trial that affects the outcome or fairness of the case. So in this instance, the court found that the error didnt rise to that standard.

He also contended that the admission of graphic crime scene photos was overly prejudicial. ​ The court disagreed, stating that the photos were probative and the trial judge properly weighed their value against their prejudicial effect. ​

He argued that the district court erred in rejecting his proposed jury instruction on specific intent. ​ The court found no abuse of discretion, as the proposed instruction was covered by other instructions. ​

Finally, he argued that the cumulative effect of the errors warranted reversal. ​ The court found that the issue of guilt was not a close one, and any errors were either harmless or did not amount to plain error. ​

The court ultimately upheld the judgment of conviction and Armando is currently incarcerated at Southern Desert Prison where he will be eligible for parole in 2038. 

He will be 75 years old. 

[John] 

Maria’s family and friends held her funeral on September 11, 2012. Numerous people who knew and loved Maria attended, including her colleagues from Safe Faith United and the doctors who cared for her after the attack and during her cancer treatments. 

Other survivors of domestic violence attended the funeral, and around the chapel were multiple photos of Maria. Many of the photos included Maria’s quotation, “If I can’t use my hands, I will use my voice.” 

Remarkably, even Armando’s ex-wife and his two daughters attended the memorial. According to the Review-Journal, the daughters were sobbing and offered their condolences to Maria’s brother Victor. Victor tried to comfort the young women and told them "It is not your fault; you did not do it.” It was then that Armando’s ex, Josie, told Victor that Armando had abused her as well. 

According to the Review Journal, the daughters went up to Maria repeatedly during the memorial, to talk to her. One of the daughters told the paper that Maria was always happy, which definitely is reflected in the stories shared by her friends and caretakers. 

It’s very clear that Maria’s story had a lasting effect on the people who knew her. Maria’s surgeon, Dr. Carl Williams, the incredible doctor who was able to reattach her hands, was deeply moved by Maria’s experience. On the day of her funeral, he closed down his practice so that all of his staff would be able to attend to pay their respects. 

[Shaun] 

In February 2014,  Paul Harasim, a reporter with the Las Vegas Review Journal, wrote an in-depth article about Dr. Williams to highlight his incredible career as part of Black History Month. At the time the article was published, Dr. Williams was 63 years old. As we mentioned, he was the first African-American hand and plastic surgeon in Las Vegas. 

Dr. Dale Carrison, who’s now retired but at the time was the chief of staff at UMC. He was quoted as saying that “Carl’s a great surgeon, a humble man, a caring man. When he’s on call at UMC for hand surgery emergencies, he never asks if the patient has insurance before coming in.”

This is no surprise to me because Dr. Williams spoke during Maria’s funeral and announced that he was starting a foundation dedicated to removing the scars of victims and survivors of domestic violence. He said, “If you get rid of some of the physical scars, you can also get rid of some emotional scars. I know I'm seeing the brutality of this terrible crime in a whole new light. I think others will, too, and we'll do more to stop it in this community."

“She will not die in vain.”

[John] 

Rebeca Ferreira, the founder and executive director of Safe Faith United, grew very close to Maria after her attack and recovery. Throughout Maria’s cancer treatment, Safe Faith United made sure her bills were paid, to at least ease some of that burden. Rebeca started Safe Faith in 2008 to help victims of domestic violence, in particular immigrants who experience different barriers when accessing support and who may need additional services, such as job training and immigration help. Safe Faith United established a fund in Maria’s name to help cover medical costs when victims were severely injured by abusers. 

When asked about Dr. Williams, Rebeca said, “How many doctors do you know that shut down their entire office and bring their staff to the funeral of a patient? Maria Gomez wasn’t famous. She worked in a convenience store. She was a nobody to almost everybody but her family, but he respected her. How many doctors do you know who vow that no woman who has been abused in Southern Nevada will have to pay for plastic surgery? Maria was right. He really is an angel.”

Maria was passionate about sharing her story and wanted to encourage women to speak out about abuse and their abusers. Rebeca worked hard to keep Maria’s story alive after her death. Unfortunately, Safe Faith United closed its doors in 2015. 

At Maria’s funeral, Rebeca said, "We live in a society where we're supposed to keep domestic violence behind closed doors. We're not supposed to talk about it because it's nobody's business. That's wrong. And Maria knew it.”  

[Shaun] 

We thought it was very important to share Maria’s story during domestic violence awareness month. She did not shy away from sharing the story of what Armando did. She encouraged and supported survivors, and pressed the Las Vegas community, and all of us really, to speak up. 

We want to share this quote from her memorial page: 

“Tia I will truly miss you. My sisters and I are grateful for your kind heart. You made an impact in my life....life is a party...celebrate life everyday. I know you will continue to smile down on us. Truly I will miss your beautiful face that's for sure.”

[John] 

We are coming to the end of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we are curious what you think so far. We wanted to share stories that we probably would not normally cover on our show and highlight some other creators that we admire and respect. 

If you have any feedback on what you thought of our episodes and format this month, please send an email to podcast@sinsandsurvivors.com. 

Next week we will have a very special collaboration with Alleged Actually about ghost hunters Mark and Debby Constantino, and that’s definitely going to be a can’t miss episode. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss it. 

[Shaun] 

Thanks again for listening, and remember what happens here, happens everywhere.