Mayra Jimenez death: Vigil held in honor of teacher allegedly murdered in NoHo by her husband, Glendale firefighter Andrew Jimenez
Students and friends on Friday night attended a candlelight vigil in honor of Mayra Jimenez, an elementary school teacher who authorities allege was killed by her firefighter husband in North Hollywood.
Andrew Jimenez, 45, a firefighter-paramedic with the Glendale Fire Department, is charged with one count of murder with an allegation of using an axe as a deadly weapon.
Jimenez appeared in court in downtown Los Angeles Friday afternoon. If convicted as charged, Jimenez faces 26 years to life in state prison.
The suspect's attorney told Eyewitness News he was withdrawing from the case.
Police say they found Mayra Jimenez bludgeoned inside the couple's home. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers responded to a home in the 5600 block of Satsuma Avenue after a man went to a police station around 4 a.m. and requested a welfare check on his wife, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The city of Glendale sent ABC7 a statement, saying that the fire department was notified by LAPD that an off-duty member of the department had been detained in connection with the investigation.
According to court records, Andrew Jimenez was booked into jail on suspicion of murder and his bail was set at $2 million.
Detectives working the crime scene said they found Mayra Jimenez's body with injuries from blunt force trauma inside the home. They said Andrew Jimenez, her husband, alerted police to the gruesome scene.
A statement from an attorney retained by Andrew Jimenez's family appeared to suggest he found out his wife was having an affair.
Detectives say the tragedy appears to be an incident of domestic violence.
"From what we've determined, very preliminarily at this stage, this was an isolated incident of domestic violence between cohabitating adults," LAPD Lt. Guy Golan said. "There's no threat to public safety at this time. The individual who is in custody at Northeast Station, we believe, is responsible for the incident."
