On the night of May 12, 2003, 16-year-old Martha Puebla sat outside her home in Sun Valley, California, sharing a quiet moment with a friend. Within minutes, her life was stolen by a gunman who asked for her by name before firing multiple shots and disappearing into the night. What seemed like a cold, calculated execution quickly unravelled into a web of investigative missteps, courtroom drama, and one extraordinary twist of fate.
Join me as we explore the murder of Martha Puebla — a tragic case that led detectives down a winding path of gang retaliation, eyewitness errors, and a young man falsely accused. Juan Catalan was arrested for Martha’s murder, based on shaky testimony and a grainy photo lineup. But just as his case seemed destined for a grim ending, an unlikely piece of evidence surfaced — hidden in the background of a popular TV show being filmed the night of the murder.
This is a story of justice nearly derailed — and the miracle that saved an innocent man from death row.
Sources:
https://www.dailynews.com/2008/07/02/la-gang-member-gets-life-for-killing-teenage-girl/
https://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-interrogate2-2008jul02-story.html
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/06/07/face-in-the-crowd
https://studylib.net/doc/18288765/1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19-20-21-22-
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