The judge of Major Risk B, Eduardo Orozco, decided to send those involved in the case for the kidnapping and disappearance of the dentist to trial. Julio Amílcar Martínez Murilloamong them Julio Leonardo Alejandro Girón Castañeda, designated by the Public Ministry (MP) as the alleged leader of the criminal structure.
According to the tax investigation, Giron Castaneda He maintained a close relationship with the victim and was even considered one of his best friends, a circumstance that, according to the accusation, would have facilitated the monitoring of the professional’s routines and movements before his disappearance.
Sent to trial
- Julio Alejandro Girón Castañeda / Plagiarism or kidnapping.
- Carlos Antonio González / Plagiarism or kidnapping.
- Juan Ubaldo Tzul Castillo / Plagiarism or kidnapping.
- Juan Oswaldo Tzul Hernández / Plagiarism or kidnapping in a degree of complicity
- Paola Isabel Díaz Ramírez / Plagiarism or kidnapping in a degree of complicity
During the intermediate stage, the Public Ministry (MP) presented the indications and evidence collected during the investigation. Among the objects are recordings from surveillance cameras, two watches, a firearm possession card, sunglasses, two intercoms, uniforms similar to those of the National Civil Police (PNC), a police shirt, a jacket, a helmet, nine pistol magazines, seven pistols, a gun sight, a rifle and at least 680 firearm cartridges.
While the defenses questioned the solidity of the accusation and requested the provisional closure of the case against Girón and the alleged negotiator Carlos Antonio González y González.
This is how the disappearance of the dentist occurred
Martínez Murillo disappeared on May 28, 2025, when he was going to his clinic in El Jocotillo, Villa Canales. According to the tax investigation, he was intercepted by a group of people who followed him from a shopping center located at kilometer 21.7 of the route to El Salvador.
According to the MP’s accusation, the criminal structure was made up of Girón Castañeda, identified as the alleged ringleader; Carlos Antonio González y González, identified as the alleged negotiator; Juan Ubaldo Tzun Castillo; Juan Oswaldo Tzun Hernández; and Paola Isabel Díaz Ramírez. In addition, Anelsy Adeli Quiñónez Corado remains a fugitive.
Among the evidence presented by the Prosecutor’s Office are records of video surveillance cameras, telephone monitoring, intercepted audios and evidence related to the vehicles that were supposedly used to carry out the kidnapping or kidnapping.
The investigation maintains that the kidnappers demanded Q5 million in exchange for releasing the dentist. However, after negotiations with the family, a payment of Q763 thousand was agreed upon, delivered on June 5, 2025 at a gas station located in zone 13 of the capital.
The MP also played audios of calls in which Martínez Murillo asked his family to raise the money to save his life.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Girón Castañeda maintained a close relationship with the victim and knew her routines, which would have facilitated the planning of the kidnapping.
Defense questioned MP investigation
During the hearings, defense lawyers questioned the investigation and assured that the accusation presents inconsistencies, gaps and errors.
Lawyer Alejandro Arriaza, defender of Paola Isabel Díaz Ramírez, stated that the MP failed to prove the participation of his client or prove the “mastery of the fact”, a legal figure that he considered essential to sustain the accusation.
In addition, he criticized the actions of the National Civil Police (PNC) during the delivery of the ransom and questioned that the authorities had not made immediate arrests or recovered the money given by the family.
“What happened to that money? Why don’t they raid, inspect and search that house that morning?” he said during the hearing.
Arriaza also pointed out that the prosecutor’s accusation lacks legal coherence and asked the judge to order the dismissal in favor of his client.
The defenses of Juan Ubaldo Tzun Castillo and Juan Oswaldo Tzun Hernández also requested that their clients not be sent to trial and argued that there are deficiencies in the MP’s investigation.