Prosecutors sought the death penalty, but jurors recommended life without parole for the 2022 killing of 93-year-old Dolores Padilla Marrero.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 58-year-old Florida man convicted of killing his girlfriend’s 93-year-old mother hours after she celebrated her birthday will spend the rest of his life in prison after jurors declined to recommend the death penalty.

Javier Rosado Martinez was sentenced July 14 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder of Dolores Padilla Marrero, who was killed March 13, 2022, at a senior living complex in Orange County. Martinez was also convicted of attempted sexual battery and received an additional five-year prison term to be served consecutively. State prosecutors had pursued capital punishment, making the jury’s sentencing recommendation the final major decision in a case that began with Padilla Marrero’s family finding her dead the morning after a birthday celebration.

The sentence followed a trial that moved much faster than initially expected. Opening statements began June 29, and a jury returned guilty verdicts after four days of testimony. The prosecution had told jurors that evidence would show Martinez went to the senior living complex and attacked Padilla Marrero. After the guilt phase, the case moved to a penalty proceeding because prosecutors had announced they were seeking the death penalty. Jurors instead recommended life imprisonment, and the court imposed life without parole on the murder conviction. The separate five-year sentence for attempted sexual battery was ordered to follow the life term.

Padilla Marrero had spent March 13, 2022, celebrating her 93rd birthday with relatives before returning to the senior living complex on Alafaya Trail, according to investigators and local reports. A daughter dropped her off at about 8 p.m. Family members later became concerned because Padilla Marrero, who normally stayed in contact with them, stopped responding to messages. One daughter had been trying to text with her about buying dresses. When relatives could not reach her the next day, a daughter and son-in-law went to the residence to check on her.

They found Padilla Marrero dead in her bedroom. Deputies who arrived at the complex said aspects of the room appeared suspicious enough that they treated the residence as a potential homicide scene before an autopsy had confirmed how she died. The medical examiner later determined that Padilla Marrero died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to her torso and classified her death as a homicide. Authorities described the injuries publicly while avoiding any suggestion that her death resulted from the natural causes that investigators more commonly encountered when responding to calls involving elderly residents.

One of the first pieces of evidence to draw investigators’ attention was a small horn-shaped pendant found near Padilla Marrero. Orange County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Joe Covelli said during the investigation that the pendant was associated with Martinez. According to investigators, Martinez’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, who was one of Padilla Marrero’s daughters, told authorities that Martinez regularly wore the distinctive item. Detectives also examined surveillance video and other physical evidence as they worked to determine who had entered the secured senior residence during the period in which Padilla Marrero was killed.

Investigators said Martinez did not initially enter the building through ordinary secured access. Authorities said another resident eventually let him inside. Surveillance evidence was among the material cited by investigators in placing him at the complex. Detectives also said they developed DNA evidence and other information that strengthened the case, although law enforcement officials did not publicly detail every piece of evidence during the early investigation. When Martinez was arrested at his Casselberry home, deputies said they recovered items linking him to Padilla Marrero’s residence, including keys to her apartment.

The connection between Martinez and the victim was not incidental. He had been involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with one of Padilla Marrero’s daughters and had previously lived with the two women, according to investigators. Local reports said he had moved out in January 2022, about two months before the killing. That history meant he was familiar with Padilla Marrero and the residence. Investigators also said he knew details of her normal habits, including that she generally locked her bedroom door when she went to sleep.

Authorities said Martinez and his girlfriend argued on the night of Padilla Marrero’s birthday celebration. The daughter told investigators that Martinez appeared to be under the influence of narcotics, according to a sheriff’s report described by local news organizations. She later received a message from him saying their relationship was over and that he planned to retrieve his belongings. Investigators said Martinez had not attended Padilla Marrero’s birthday gathering but contacted her that night. The prosecution ultimately presented the killing as an attack committed by someone already known to the victim rather than an intrusion by an unknown stranger.

When detectives questioned Martinez after the killing, he did not confess, Covelli said in remarks during the 2022 investigation. Instead, according to the sergeant, Martinez told detectives that he had blacked out during the relevant period. Covelli said investigators had gathered additional evidence that they believed firmly connected Martinez to the homicide. Those statements were made shortly after his arrest, well before the case went to trial, when Martinez was still presumed innocent and the state had not yet proved its allegations to a jury.

The case remained pending for more than four years before reaching a jury in 2026. Jury selection began in June, with prosecutors preparing to pursue both the murder case and a related sexual-battery allegation. Martinez ultimately was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery. The verdict changed the legal posture of the case: facts that had previously been allegations against an accused defendant became findings returned by a jury after evidence was presented in court. The remaining question was whether Martinez would be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.

State Attorney Monique Worrell said after sentencing that Padilla Marrero had opened her home to someone she trusted. “This sentence ensures Javier Rosado Martinez will never again have the opportunity to harm another person,” Worrell said. She also acknowledged the victim’s relatives and said no criminal sentence could undo what the family had endured. Sheriff John Mina had described the killing as a tragic case when announcing Martinez’s arrest in 2022, emphasizing that investigators believed Padilla Marrero had been killed by someone she knew and had previously helped.

The sentencing closes the central trial-court phase of a case that began with Padilla Marrero’s death in March 2022 and ended more than four years later with a murder conviction. Martinez is to serve life without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder, followed by the consecutive five-year term imposed for attempted sexual battery. The jury’s decision means the death penalty sought by prosecutors will not be imposed.

Author note: Last updated August 21, 2026.