A man found guilty of killing a Phoenix police officer six years ago was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Friday.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Teresa Sanders delivered the sentence to Danny Ledezma Martinez in the May 26, 2010 fatally shooting of Officer Travis Murphy, according to The Arizona Republic.
The packed courtroom was overflowing with police officers and Murphy's family and friends as Martinez was received the maximum sentence.
The 29-year-old officer was shot and killed by Martinez after he responded to calls of a suspicious person near 19th Avenue and Indian School Road. Martinez was found by police naked in a shed in the backyard of a nearby house with an AR-15 assault rifle in another shed in a yard next door to the one where Martinez was found.
Murphy succumbed to his wounds several hours after the shooting. He left behind his wife, a 2-year-old girl and newborn baby boy.
"It was the worst night of my life," Officer Jillian Mahlmeister, who was Murphy's partner and was riding with him the night he was killed, said during an audio call to the . "I found Travis seconds after he was shot and immediately applied aid. It's a vision I will never forget. Warm blood poured out of his leg. The look in his blue eyes. It's been almost six years. I close my eyes and still see that vision. I have spent many sleepless nights reliving it."
