Benjamin Cota was sentenced to death by the State of Arizona for a double murder
According to court documents Benjamin Cota was hired by Guadalupe Zavala and her husband Victor Martinez to do work around the house
Benjamin Cota would pay them back by brutally killing the couple
Benjamin Cota would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Where Is Benjamin Cota Now
Benjamin Cota is incarcerated at ASPC Florence
Benjamin Cota Case
Victor Martinez and his wife, Guadalupe Zavala, lived in Peoria. In late 2003, they hired Cota to assist with home repair projects. Martinez and Zavala had jobs outside their home and spoke with friends and family daily. But on December 30, 2003, both disappeared without explanation.
¶ 3 Martinez was last seen that afternoon. He told his son that he was going to take a nap, and then drive Cota home before going to work at 6:00 p.m. Martinez never arrived at work. Zavala worked until 8:00 p.m. that night, but was never heard from thereafter. Concerned friends, co-workers, and family members called and went by the couple’s home repeatedly in the following days. Cota sometimes answered the telephone and gave inconsistent accounts about the couple’s whereabouts. He also began driving the couple’s pickup truck and gave their car to his son. He sold the couple’s water heater and tried to sell jewelry he claimed the couple had given him.
¶ 4 On January 3, 2004, Cota pawned two of Zavala’s bracelets. He withdrew money from the couple’s bank accounts on January 5 and 6. He invited friends to stay with him at the couple’s home, but told them not to enter the master bedroom or answer the phones. After Cota allowed them to enter the master bedroom, one friend saw a large pile of clothes in the closet.
¶ 5 On January 6, family members went to the home and noticed items missing outside, including the water heater. They called the police and gained entrance into the home. They found the bodies of Martinez and Zavala wrapped in plastic in the master bedroom closet beneath a pile of clothes.
¶ 6 Police located Cota at his mother’s home, where the couple’s pickup truck was parked. During an ensuing chase, Cota tossed items out of the truck, including drugs and his wallet. Police apprehended him after he crashed the truck and fled on foot. His wallet contained Zavala’s date of birth and social security number, and pawn tickets dated January 3. Police searched Cota’s mother’s home and found his shoes. DNA testing of blood on the shoes revealed contributions from Cota, Martinez, and Zavala.
¶ 7 Cota was charged in one indictment with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of armed robbery, and in a second with possession of narcotics and unlawful flight. The indictments were joined for trial, and a jury found Cota guilty on all counts. In the aggravation phase of the murder cases, the jury found that Cota had been convicted of a serious offense committed on the same occasion, A.R.S. § 13–751(F)(2), that Cota committed the crime while on authorized release, § 13–751(F)(7), and that Martinez was over the age of seventy, § 13–751(F)(9).
¶ 8 In the penalty phase, the jury returned a death sentence for the murder of Zavala, but was unable to reach a verdict as to the murder of Martinez. The trial court sentenced Cota to natural life on that count and to prison terms for the non-homicide counts, all but one consecutive to the others.