AUSTIN, Texas — A man accused of killing his girlfriend on New Year's Day marks Austin's first homicide of 2024.
Austin police say they received multiple calls about a shooting at an East Riverside apartment complex on Monday just before 9 p.m.
When officers arrived they found 19-year-old Naomi Davis unresponsive with a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say her boyfriend, 20-year-old Martin Rodriguez, was also found with a gunshot wound but that despite his injuries, he managed to resist arrest and get into a physical altercation with officers.
After officers arrested Rodriguez, he was taken to the hospital for treatment for a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say he is currently stable in an unknown condition.
According to an affidavit obtained by KVUE, a witness interviewed by police said that in the days prior to Davis's death, they had recently warned Davis that they were concerned that Rodriguez might kill her. Another witness told police that the relationship between Davis and Rodriguez was "tumultuous," with Rodriguez being very controlling of Davis. That witness also told police that Davis informed them that she was worried Rodriguez might kill her.
Records show Rodriguez has been charged with murder and unlawfully carrying a weapon. He's currently being held at the Travis County Correctional Complex on a combined bond of $770,000.
Police say Rodriguez was also arrested on Dec. 1, 2023, for unlawfully carrying a weapon with a previous felony conviction. He was later allowed to be released from jail on bond on Dec. 15.
Gov. Greg Abbott responded to this incident on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, saying that lawmakers "tried to make it tougher for criminals to be released back onto the street after being arrested."