MINEOLA, NY – On Wednesday, Jose Franco-Martinez, a 58-year-old Elmont resident, has been convicted of Murder in the Second Degree for the brutal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend, Maria Larin, at Belmont Racetrack in June 2018, announced Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
Franco-Martinez faces a potential maximum of 25 years to life in prison and is due back for sentencing on May 19, 2023.
The fatal attack took place after Franco-Martinez drove over 1,000 miles from Kansas to New York, suspecting that Larin was seeing another man.
On the morning of June 17, 2018, he attacked her without warning, stabbing her 23 times with a silver kitchen knife while she was working as a hot walker at the racetrack. Staff at Belmont apprehended Franco-Martinez before he could flee the scene, and the case’s prosecution reflects the commitment to holding individuals accountable for their violent actions and protecting victims of domestic violence in Nassau County.
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence, including surveillance footage, eyewitness accounts, and Franco-Martinez’s admission to police officers following his arrest.
The defense attempted to argue that he acted in a fit of passion, but the jury ultimately rejected this claim.
