Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Grudge Match’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Fear Thy Neighbor,’ the focus is on Martin Jones, a husband and father of two daughters. Misfortune struck the family when he was hospitalized, and he eventually died at a hospital in October 2021. The mystery behind his murder was investigated by the authorities, leading them to uncover some dark secrets about him. Since the episode also features interviews with the victim’s loved ones, the audience tends to get an insightful perspective on the case.
Martin Jones Was in Critical Condition Before Dying in the Hospital Bed
Growing up in a rough household, Martin Wayne Jones was raised by an allegedly abusive father who used to sexually assault his sister and beat his siblings and mother, as per Natasha, Martin’s wife. Despite the traumatic experiences of his childhood, he had to step up and raise his younger siblings as his mother was a drunk. However, at some point in his life, he caved into drugs and even served some time in prison for some drug-related convictions. When he crossed paths with Natasha, both of them used drugs. However, despite their struggles, they built a family for themselves by welcoming two lovely daughters — Bethany and Everly — into their world. Before meeting Natasha, he had been in a relationship with another woman with whom he shared a son.
Although he struggled with relapse, Martin worked as a professional arborist and was a family man who was devoted to his wife and doted on his daughters. He loved to make others laugh, especially his wife. Since neither had been to Florida, they made plans to visit the ocean there. However, little did they know that their travel dreams would remain incomplete. At the time, they resided at Evergreen Mobile Home Park, where he was found in critical condition on October 9, 2021. When the authorities inspected his body and the crime scene, they could not locate any suspect or any weapon around him. As the detectives launched an investigation, Martin was rushed to the hospital but due to a blood cot, he passed away a few days later, on October 14. The official cause of death was declared to be complications from gunshot wounds.
Martin Jones’ Dispute With a Neighbor Led to His Untimely Demise
As the authorities dug deeper into Martin Jones’ life and the circumstances surrounding his unfortunate demise, they learned that he had an ongoing feud with his next-door neighbor, Noel Ramirez Martin. Just like the victim, Noel was also a family man with a loving wife named Ashley and four children — Nathan, Isaiah, Elena, and Gabby. Apart from being a home health care worker with his wife, Noel was also a maintenance worker for Evergreen Mobile Home Park, responsible for fixing many residential issues. Initially, the relationship between the neighbors was amicable as both sets of parents and kids gelled well together. Things changed when Noel was arrested for parole violation of his previous illegal weapons conviction, after which he remained imprisoned for the following eighteen months.
When he got released from prison, his family organized a welcoming party and called a bunch of his friends over. During the party, Martin allegedly called the police on his party due to the loud noise, and thus, the bad blood between them began. Things got worse when the two men got into a heated fistfight. On top of that, as per Noel’s claims, Martin kept calling the cops on him for no reason. On the fateful day, Jones confronted Martin and accused him of smashing his car windows. However, the accused claimed that he denied it and told him that he wasn’t even home at the time. However, one of the neighbors, Dale Hall, told the police that he had seen Noel bust the windows with a hammer. That evening, while Noel was walking with his brother, Carlos Matthew Martin Jr., and a friend, he saw Martin approach him.
That’s when he fired a couple of shots in rapid succession, after which the wounded man returned to his property. Before the police arrived at the scene, he reportedly handed over the murder weapon to his brother, who fled away with the firearm. When Noel was interrogated by the police, he claimed that he shot him in self-defense as Martin was allegedly coming at him aggressively, despite him asking him to stop. After Martin failed to survive the gunshot wounds, he was charged with murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, criminal mischief, and possession of a controlled substance. Meanwhile, a few days later, his brother, Carlos, was arrested for tampering with evidence. In December 2021, Noel Ramirez Martin was officially indicted for the criminal charges against him.
Noel Ramirez Martin is Serving His Sentence at a Texas Prison Facility
Nearly a year after his indictment, on October 27, 2022, Noel Ramirez Martin stood on trial for the murder of his neighbor, Martin Jones. The prosecutors claimed that the defendant shot the father of three during a heated argument at the Evergreen Mobile Home community, where they both resided, while the defense attorneys argued that he should not be charged with murder as Martin passed away due to an unrelated medical issue and not from the gunshot wounds inflicted by Noel.
The killer also took the stand and testified that he shot the victim in self-defense. He stated, “I shot him. I was scared of what would happen if I didn’t.” After firing the shots at his neighbor, he said that he went into shock. A few days into the trial, on November 1, 2022, the jury took an hour and a half of deliberation time and returned with a guilty verdict, convicting Noel Ramirez Martin of murdering Martin Jones in 2021. He was then sentenced to 40 years in prison, in addition to a decade for unlawful possession of a firearm. As of today, he is incarcerated at Daniel Webster Wallace Unit in Colorado City, Texas, while awaiting his parole eligibility date scheduled for October 2041.
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