Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast - Her Voice - The Attempted Murder of Maria Del Carmen Gomez

Episode Date: October 22, 2024

Maria survived a brutal machete attack, but she didn’t stop there. Even as she faced her hardest battle, she never stopped using her voice to help others.In the early hours of the evening on March 21st, 2012, police were called to the scene of a horrific and chaotic attack on Craig Road in North Las Vegas. The 911 calls indicated that a man had gone on a rampage attacking a woman with a machete and then had started cutting his own throat in a parking lot.Maria Del Carmen Gomez was lying in the parking lot outside of her place of work in a pool of blood, next to her apparent attacker, who was also bleeding profusely from his neck.  What happened that night was incredibly shocking, but it wasn't this that brought Maria to her end. This extremely resilient woman hadn't even started the hardest fight of her life yet.https://sinspod.co/episode49sourcesDomestic Violence Resourceshttp://sinspod.co/resourcesClick here to become a member of our Patreon!https://sinspod.co/patreonVisit and join our Patreon now and access our ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content & schwag! Get ad-free access for only $1 a month or ad-free and bonus episodes for $3 a monthApple Podcast Subscriptionshttps://sinspod.co/appleWe're now offering premium membership benefits on Apple Podcast Subscriptions! On your mobile deviceLet us know what you think about the episodehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2248640/open_sms Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sins-survivors-a-las-vegas-true-crime-podcast--6173686/support.

To listen ad-free, visit Zinspod.co slash subscribe. Starting at $2.99 a month, you'll also get access to our exclusive bonus content episodes when you join through Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Thanks for supporting the show! In the early hours of the evening on March 21, 2012, police were called to the scene of a horrific and chaotic attack on Craig Road in North Las Vegas. The 911 calls indicated that a man had gone on a rampage, attacking a woman with a machete, and then had started cutting his own

throat in a parking lot. Maria del Carmen Gomez was lying in the parking lot outside her place of work in a pool of blood next to her apparent attacker, who was also bleeding profusely from his neck. What happened that night was incredibly shocking, but it wasn't this that brought Maria to her end. This extremely resilient woman hadn't even started the hardest fight of her life yet. Hi, and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, as well as missing persons and unsolved cases. I'm your host, Sean, and with me, as always, is the one and only John.

I am the only John in the room. I promise we haven't covered this case before, but you might think so when you start to hear some of the details. We always try to start with background on the victim, always focusing on them and the people they leave behind, but too many times there isn't much information to be found, especially in a case like this when it happened more than a decade ago. The media loves to talk about cases like this and of course tends to focus on the grisly details and not the people behind the tragedy.

Do you want to get us started with what we know about Maria? Sure, of course. Well, we know that Maria del Carmen Gomez was born on February 5th, 1959, so that made her 53 years old in 2012. We know that she has at least one sibling, Victor, and a niece who passed away from leukemia at the age of 12. That was Victor's daughter. From her memorial video, there isn't much to be learned, but it looks like she had other siblings who aren't mentioned anywhere in any of the articles about her. Even worse, many of the articles about her are now gone,

but we did find a few that were archived in the Review Journal and also on the Internet Archive, the Wayback Machine. We do know that she cared deeply for her brother Victor, who had had two strokes. She worked two jobs, one as a clerk in a grocery store and a second job as a housekeeper. By working these two jobs, she was able to offer her brother a lot of support and provided care for him. We also know that she was a very positive and upbeat person who cared deeply for others. We have some examples of this as well to tell you about after we tell you what happened to her. You've come to expect this, of course, but Maria had a boyfriend named Armando Vergara Martinez. He was born on April 24, 1962, in Acapulco, Mexico, so he was a few years younger

than Maria. He had two daughters from a previous marriage. There's some question about what he did for work, with some of the reporting saying he was a landscaper, and his eventual arrest report saying he was unemployed. In 2010, Maria reported Armando to the police for attacking her, leading to him spending 41 days in jail after being convicted of misdemeanor strangulation. According to Maria, after that, she left Armando for good. We talk about that a lot too, and you'll remember that strangulation is one of the strongest indicators that a domestic violence victim is at risk of being murdered by her partner. The risk is 700% higher of being murdered if their partner strangles This wasn't Armando's first incident of domestic violence. He also abused his first wife, Josie Ortiz.

Unfortunately, we don't know the details about Armando's first marriage, but violence was clearly a pattern with him. Maria moved on after the attack, thankfully, and two years later, she was in a relationship with a new man named Domingo Cortez. On the evening of March 21, 2012, Maria was working one of her jobs at the Green Valley Grocery in North Las Vegas. While she was working, Domingo showed up and sat at the gaming machines waiting for her to finish up so they could go home. In case you didn't know this, places like grocery stores have what are basically small casinos in them with a handful of gaming machines like slots and video poker. It's one of the weird

little things you see only in Las Vegas. For some reason on that day, Armando also showed up at the grocery store. Apparently, he had brought Maria food, according to an account in court documents. So he brought her the food and then headed back to his car, and shortly thereafter, Maria headed outside. Knowing the history of violence there, Domingo followed her outside, and he quickly heard her shouting his name. When he found her, he was horrified to see that Armando had apparently snapped and was attacking Maria with a machete. Maria was on the ground and seriously injured. When Domingo got close, Armando said, and I'm paraphrasing here a little, this is all your fault, and then proceeded to start cutting his own neck with a box cutter. There were other witnesses to the attack, including a co-worker who witnessed Armando

hitting Maria, and he told him that police had been called. And there was also a woman named Janae, who was parked nearby, and got to Maria before Domingo and was pleading with Armando to stop before running to call the police herself. North Las Vegas police arrived quickly at the horrifying scene and found Maria on the ground in a pool of blood. Her head had been hit with the machete so badly that her skull was broken and her brain was visible in places, and both of her hands were nearly severed from her wrists. It was an

absolutely horrific sight. She was brought to UMC, which is the only level one trauma center in Las Vegas. The police stated in court documents that they were unable to photograph her injuries due to the number of physicians treating her and her need for immediate emergency surgery. She underwent surgery to repair her damaged skull, and the five-hour surgery to reattach her hands was performed by Dr. Carl Williams, the first African-American hand and plastic surgeon in the Las Vegas area. He was the first black plastic surgeon in the United States to have three board certifications. He focused on hand surgery because, as he put it, I realized that if people don't have their hands, they can't even eat by themselves. He moved to Las Vegas in the 1980s because there was a very

urgent need for that specialty here, and I know we're all glad he did. One of the other UMC trauma surgeons described how Dr. Williams worked painstakingly for hours, stabilizing fractures and reconnecting ligaments, tendons, and nerves so that Maria might be able to use her hands again. He said, the patience and sewing skill that takes is almost incomprehensible. Dr. Williams also said, Maria is such a nice woman who has suffered far too much. She reminded me of my mother, who was also the victim of domestic abuse. Armando was also brought to UMC due to his self-inflicted injuries and was taken into custody by the police on March 23rd. He had two cuts on his neck, but neither one was life-threatening.

While she was in the hospital recovering from her extensive injuries, her friends, the doctors, and the medical staff all reported to the Review-Journal that Maria was consistently in good spirits and always smiling and never complained about the pain she was in, even though it was obvious she was in pain. According to Maria, she dumped Armando immediately after the violent incident in 2010 when he strangled her. She made it clear that their romantic relationship was over, but she said that the two of them would still speak to each other once in a while. She said that he had recently asked for her help in finding a job, and she had invited him to come and apply for a job where she worked. Armando lived with his parents along with his two daughters. His parents called

the police on the morning after the attack because they were deeply disturbed by what they found in their house when they woke up. They told officers that they went to bed on the night of March 21st and that Armando was sitting on the couch, but when they woke up in the morning, he was gone, and so was their car. They found a notebook on the table with a note that read, Dear Mom, forgive me for all the bad I have done. I know I am doing wrong for what I am going to do with Maria. I could never accept the betrayal that she did to me with another person.

She is with me and also with another person. I could not support that. Tell my kids to forgive me for what I did. I love them very much. The original note was written in Spanish, and this is the translation that was offered to the investigating officers by his family. His mother also observed him sharpening a machete, so based on all this, they knew they had to call the police because they thought he might have hurt Maria. The police also spoke to his brother, who told them that Armando is very violent, and that two years ago he had a domestic violence incident in which he put a knife to Maria's throat. He said that it was him who finally convinced his parents to call 911. Maria spent the next few months as an advocate and spokesperson for tougher laws against domestic violence.

She famously said, If I can't use my hands, I'll use my voice. In August 2012, after that horrible ordeal, she got the heartbreaking news that she was in the advanced stages of uterine cancer, which had affected her diaphragm, ovaries, uterus, and lymph nodes. Initially, the doctors felt that although it was caught late, it could still be curable. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy, and a local non-profit named Safe Faith United, which unfortunately doesn't exist anymore, helped her recover her expenses

during this time. Even though she was undergoing cancer treatment, she was still worried about her brother Victor and how he would get by without her income. As for Armando, she told friends, God will take care of him. Armando was charged with three felonies, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, battery with the use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm constituting domestic violence, and then mayhem, which is an uncommon legal term and involves unlawfully maiming, disfiguring, or disabling another person. Shortly after his arrest, the reporting was that Armando was planning to plead guilty at his arraignment. Maria, who at the time was still recovering, was prepared to testify. At his initial arraignment on April 30, 2012, his attorney asked for a continuance,

since he had just been assigned to the case and the continuance was granted. On May 31st, 2012, Armando pleaded not guilty to all charges, which was a surprise to some people because the rumors were that he was going to accept responsibility and just plead guilty. Sadly, Maria passed away on September 5th, 2012 at the age of 53 from complications due to her cancer, fully 18 months before the case went to trial. In October of 2012, Armando, apparently without his attorney's assistance or knowledge, filed a guilty plea agreement with the court where he offered to plead guilty to domestic violence with injury and agreed to accept a sentence of two to five years. Evidently, this was not something the state had agreed to, and Armando's attorney told the court that he was trying to help negotiate a plea deal, but the process was not working, and he asked to withdraw

as Armando's attorney. Armando would withdraw this plea shortly thereafter, and the trial began in February of 2014. On the day the trial began, Maria's friends, family, loved ones, and supporters gathered for a rally on the front steps of the Clark County Justice Center. Even though Maria was gone and wouldn't be there, their goal was to make sure that her story did not fade into the background, and that all victims and survivors of domestic violence felt seen and supported. The trial only lasted two days. The prosecution had many eyewitnesses to the event, and the question of whether or not Armando attacked Maria wasn't even at issue in the trial. In fact, Armando conceded to the charges

of mayhem and domestic battery with a weapon. Instead, his attorney's strategy was to show that Armando never intended to kill Maria. Their primary argument was that Armando was too intoxicated to know what he was doing. He just didn't have the mental ability to form the intent to kill because he was so drunk. That's similar to the case of Michaela Reiner, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Brandon Hansen in 2017. If you remember, in that case, part of Hansen's defense was that he was depressed and on prescription medication, which made him unable to make plans and therefore unable to commit premeditated murder. In that case, the court was not swayed by that argument. To support their case, the defense only offered one witness, Armando himself. Armando testified

that he was upset that Maria had broken up with him and that she was seeing someone else. He explained that he got off work and drank a few beers. Then he went to a bar and drank a few more beers. He also testified that the note he had left for his parents was written in his handwriting, but claimed he had no recollection of writing it. He admitted that he assaulted Maria, and he even became emotional on the stand. But he said he didn't remember wanting to kill her or what had happened that night. By admitting to the charges of mayhem and assault, the defense claimed that Armando had taken responsibility for what he had done, which is debatable at best.

DA Mark DiGiacomo made a dramatic and passionate closing statement, describing and pantomiming what Maria had endured. He spared no detail and definitively stated to the jury, he admitted to you what he can't deny. He told the jury that the only question was whether or not Armando had attacked Maria with the machete. That alone showed that he intended to kill her. And of course, on that count, they had quite a few eyewitnesses. During the prosecution's closing arguments, one of Maria's supporters clapped when the DA asked the jury to find Armando guilty of all charges. Armando guilty of all charges. Armando's attorneys moved for a mistrial, but Judge Abby Silver did not grant that request, and she stated that if she had known who the clapper was, she would have jailed that person

for contempt of court. The jury's verdict was unsurprising given the evidence presented. Armando was found guilty on all three counts, including attempted murder. Judge Silver sentenced him to 26 to 65 years. Armando, of course, attempted to appeal the verdict. Surprisingly, he raised several legal arguments for his appeal, all of which were rejected by the Supreme Court of Nevada. For a case that seemed so straightforward about the defendant's guilt, and for a trial that only lasted two days, there were a lot of things that he wanted the appeals court to review.

One interesting argument he tried to raise was that his conviction was double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is a principle in American law that prevents a person from being tried twice for the same crime after being acquitted or convicted. The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution provides protection and safeguards against repeated prosecutions for the same offense. Armando argued that his dual convictions for mayhem as well as battery resulting in substantial bodily harm violated double jeopardy. The court disagreed, stating that each machete stabbing constituted a distinct act of violence resulting in separate injuries, therefore justifying separate convictions. He contended that amending the charges on the second day of the trial violated due process and the Sixth Amendment notice requirement.

The court found no merit at all in that argument, noting that he had had adequate notice of the charges and failed to demonstrate any prejudice or miscarriage of justice. He also objected to the admission of certain expert testimonies and medical records. However, the court ruled that the district court's decision was perfectly reasonable. Another key argument was that the media attention and protesters during the trial prejudiced the jury. It's difficult to say whether or not this influenced the jury's decision, but the court found there was no error and also noted that Armando did not apply for a change of venue, which is required under Nevada law. Armando claimed prosecutorial

misconduct also, including misstatements of evidence and law. The court concluded that any misstatements were either harmless or did not rise to the level of plain error. A plain error is a clear and obvious mistake made during a trial that affects the outcome or fairness of the case. So in this instance, the court found that the error didn't rise to that standard. He also contended that the admission of the graphic crime scene photos was overly prejudicial. The court disagreed, saying that the photos were probative and the trial judge properly weighed their value against their prejudicial effect. He argued that the district court erred in rejecting his proposed jury instruction on

specific intent. The court found no abuse of discretion as the proposed instruction was covered by other instructions. Finally, he argued that the cumulative effect of all the errors warranted reversal. The court found that the issue of guilt was not a close one, and any errors were either harmless or did not amount to plain error. The court ultimately upheld the judgment of conviction, and Armando is currently incarcerated at Southern Desert Prison, where he will be eligible for parole in 2038. He will be 75 years old. Maria's family and friends held her funeral on September 11, 2012. Numerous people who knew and loved Maria attended, including her colleagues

from Safe Faith United and the doctors who cared for her after the attack and during her cancer treatments. Other survivors of domestic violence attended the funeral, and around the chapel were multiple photos of Maria. Many of the photos included Maria's quotation, If I can't use my hands, I will use my voice. Armando's ex-wife and his two daughters also attended. According to the Review Journal, the daughters were sobbing and offered their condolences to Maria's brother, Victor. Victor tried to comfort the young women and told them, It's not your fault. You didn't do it. And it was then that Armando's ex, Josie, told Victor that Armando had abused her as well. According to the Review Journal,

the daughters went up to Maria repeatedly during the memorial to talk to her. One of the daughters told the paper that Maria was always happy, which is definitely reflected in the stories shared by her friends and caretakers. It's very clear that Maria's story had a lasting effect on the people who knew her. Maria's surgeon, Dr. Carl Williams, the incredible doctor who was able to reattach her hands, was deeply moved by Maria's experience. On the day of her funeral, he closed down his practice so that his entire staff would be able to attend and pay their respects. In February 2014, Paul Harrison, a reporter with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, wrote an in-depth article about Dr. Williams to highlight his incredible career as a part of Black History Month. At the time the article was published, Dr. Williams was 63 years

old. As we mentioned, he was the first African-American hand and plastic surgeon in Las Vegas. Dr. Dale Kerrison, who is now retired, but at the time was the chief of staff at UMC, he was quoted as saying, Carl's a great surgeon, a humble man, a caring man. When he's on call at UMC for hand surgery emergencies, he never asks if the patient has insurance before coming in. This is no surprise to me because Dr. Williams spoke during Maria's funeral and announced that he was starting a foundation dedicated to removing the scars of victims and survivors of domestic violence. He said, if you get rid of some of the physical scars, you can also get rid of some emotional scars. I know I'm seeing the brutality of this terrible crime in a whole new light.

I think others will too. And we'll do more to stop it in this community. She will not die in vain. Rebecca Ferreira, the founder and executive director of Safe Faith United, grew very close with Maria after her attack and recovery. Throughout Maria's cancer treatment, Safe Faith made sure her bills would be paid to at least ease some of that burden. Rebecca started Safe Faith in 2008 to help victims of domestic violence, in particular immigrants who experience different barriers when accessing support and who may need additional

services such as job training and immigration help. Safe Faith United established a fund in Maria's name to help cover medical costs when victims were severely injured by abusers. When asked about Dr. Williams, Rebecca said, How many doctors do you know that shut down their entire office and bring their staff to the funeral of a patient? Maria Gomez wasn't famous. She worked at a convenience store. She was a nobody to almost everybody but her family, but he respected her. How many doctors do you know that vow that no woman who has been abused in Southern Nevada will have to pay for Maria was right. He really is an angel. Maria was passionate about sharing her story and wanted to encourage women to speak out about abuse and their abusers.

Rebecca worked hard to keep Maria's story alive after her death. Unfortunately, Safe Faith United closed its doors in 2015. At Maria's funeral, Rebecca said, We live in a society where we're supposed to keep domestic violence behind closed doors. We're not supposed to talk about it because it's nobody's business. That's wrong, and Maria knew it. We thought it was very important to share Maria's story during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. She did not shy away from sharing the story of what Armando did. She encouraged and supported survivors and pressed the Las Vegas community and all of us really to speak up. We want to share this quote from her memorial page. Tia, I will truly miss

you. My sisters and I are grateful for your kind heart. You made an impact in my life. Life is a party. Celebrate life every day. I know you will continue to smile down on us. Truly, I will miss your beautiful face. That's for sure. We are coming to the end of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we're curious what you think so far. We wanted to share stories that we probably wouldn't normally cover on our show and highlight some of the other creators that we admire and respect.

If you have any feedback on what you thought of our episodes and our format this month, please drop us an email at podcast at sinsandsurvivors.com. Next week, we will have a very special collaboration with the Alleged Actually podcast about Ghost Hunters, Mark and Debbie Constantino, and that is definitely going to be a can't miss episode. Make sure you're subscribed be a can't miss episode. Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss it. Thanks again for listening. And remember what happens here happens everywhere. To be continued... Remember to like and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads at Sins and Survivors. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact us at questions at sinsandsurvivors.com. If you or someone you

know is affected by domestic violence or needs support, please reach out to local resources or the National Domestic Violence Hotline. A list of resources is available on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, is research written and produced by your hosts, Sean and John. The information shared in this podcast is accurate at the time of recording. If you have questions, concerns, or corrections, please email us. Links to source material for this episode can be found on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast creators, hosts, and their guests. All individuals are innocent until proven

guilty. This content does not constitute legal advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with legal professionals for guidance.