{"id":6678,"date":"2026-08-12T18:39:33","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T18:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678"},"modified":"2026-08-12T18:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T18:39:33","slug":"once-an-engineer-with-a-bright-future-martinez-murder-suspects-life-collapsed-over-18-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678","title":{"rendered":"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

MARTINEZ \u2014 Before he allegedly butchered a 68-year-old man during a home burglary at a quiet cul-de-sac, Marcos Iriarte-Valdez likely had hundreds of thousands of dollars soon coming his way.<\/p>\n

Read more Double stabbing in Richmond kills one; hospitalizes another<\/a><\/p>\n

Until 2025, Iriarte-Valdez, 36, had a life many would envy. He has spent the past decade working as an engineer, for big-name companies like Boeing and Ametek, after earning a degree at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. He has lived in some of Contra Costa\u2019s most affluent cities, Orinda and Lafayette, and more recently listed his Martinez townhouse for sale with a $495,000 price tag, according to public records.<\/p>\n

But over the past 18 months, Iriarte-Valdez\u2019s life has utterly collapsed into disarray. It started with allegations of domestic violence in early 2025, brought about during an intense breakup and accusations he was stockpiling lewd videos of teens on his computer. By 2026, Iriarte-Valdez was an alleged home burglar, charged with breaking into upscale residences in cities he once called home.<\/p>\n

Now, he\u2019s in jail being held without bail, accused of using a knife to stab and kill 68-year-old Todd Stewart. Like Iriarte-Valdez, Stewart had made a career as an engineer. In retirement, he was spending time with loved ones and enjoying leisurely activities like golf and fishing, neighbors told ABC7. On Aug. 6, he allegedly interrupted Iriarte-Valdez during a brazen daytime burglary, and was killed within seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody is still in shock,\u201d one neighbor told the news station.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve known him for so long. Todd was really a wonderful neighbor, nice guy, always helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Court records offer a disturbing picture of how Iriarte-Valdez went from a respected professional with a bright future to an accused killer. His case history is also rife with second chances that Iriarte-Valdez received after being accused of serious crimes, including the final one \u2014 just a day before the homicide, he\u2019d been released from jail in a still-pending felony burglary case.<\/p>\n

It all started Jan. 9, 2025, when Iriarte-Valdez\u2019s ex-girlfriend reported him for alleged domestic violence. The two had recently broken up and he returned to their once-shared apartment to pick up his belongings, in Lafayette. She told police she was working on her computer when he slammed the laptop shut and grabbed her by the throat, choking and scratching her. The attack stop after she managed to grab a stun gun and threaten him with it, authorities allege.<\/p>\n

But during the police interview, the woman revealed why they\u2019d broken up, and the investigation drastically changed. She said she\u2019d found videos on Iriarte-Valdez\u2019s laptop of teen girls being sexually abused, including categories of \u201c16 and up\u201d and \u201c17+,\u201d according to court records.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Iriarte-Valdez brushed off the accusations, telling her that pornography sites misrepresent subjects\u2019 ages, but she ended the relationship, according to police. Authorities filed a search warrant for the iPad but weren\u2019t able to locate it, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Read more Expecting his first child, Jon Hamm joins long list of \u2018old\u2019 Hollywood dads<\/a><\/p>\n

The woman took out a restraining order against Iriarte-Valdez. In April 2025, he was accused of violating it and charged with a misdemeanor. In a hearing before Judge Jesse Hsieh, Iriarte-Valdez was allowed to resolve his case with a diversion program, giving him a chance to avoid a criminal conviction. The diversion program was supposed to end in February 2027, according to court records.<\/p>\n

The same month the misdemeanor charges was filed, Iriarte-Valdez\u2019s employment ended with Ametek, an international conglomerate where he\u2019d been working as an engineer, according to his Linkedin page. The page doesn\u2019t show any more recent employers, but Iriarte-Valdez appeared hopeful.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking to grow and learn as much as possible with the next step in my career,\u201d he wrote in his profile.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

But by May 2026, Iriarte-Valdez was back in legal hot water. This time he was charged with felonies for allegedly breaking into two Orinda homes last April. The burglaries were committed in the middle of the afternoon and Iriarte-Valdez was quickly identified as a suspect and arrested, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Over the next three months, two different Contra Costa judges \u2014 signed off on his release, likely due to a recent California Supreme Court ruling that has changed how bail is set statewide. Issued April 30, the so-called Kowalczyk decision, requires defendants to be released or \u201caffordable\u201d bail to be set unless prosecutors can show \u201cclear and convincing\u201d evidence the defendant is likely to seriously hurt someone or skip out on court. Proponents of the decisions say its in line with Constitutional mandates, while police and prosecutors have largely decried it as a public safety threat.<\/p>\n

Judge Jesse Hsieh initially released him back in May, but placed him on a home detention requirement. In August, he was accused of violating the court\u2019s order and brought before Judge Nichelle Holmes, a former Contra Costa prosecutor, who released Iriarte-Valdez on Aug. 5. The very next day, he allegedly showed up to Francis Court in Martinez and again attempted a daytime home burglary, resulting in the confrontation and Stewart\u2019s violent death, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n

Authorities allege that in addition to video evidence placing Iriarte-Valdez there, his DNA was found at the homicide scene. He remains jailed and is set to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon, records show. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Homeland security has publicly commented about his case, in social media posts calling Iriarte-Valdez a criminal \u201calien\u201d who should be deported.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018We need answers\u2019: Woman yet to regain consciousness after being hit by car driven by 6-year-old boy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The man recently charged with murder in Martinez is a homeowner, a former engineer and an accused burglar who had been accused of attacking his ex after she reported finding videos of teen girls on his computer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOnce an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The man recently charged with murder in Martinez is a homeowner, a former engineer and an accused burglar who had been accused of attacking his ex after she reported finding videos of teen girls on his computer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-12T18:39:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-12T18:39:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678\"},\"wordCount\":940,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678\",\"name\":\"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-12T18:39:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":775},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6678#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months - Next City Digest","og_description":"The man recently charged with murder in Martinez is a homeowner, a former engineer and an accused burglar who had been accused of attacking his ex after she reported finding videos of teen girls on his computer.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-08-12T18:39:33+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months","datePublished":"2026-08-12T18:39:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678"},"wordCount":940,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678","name":"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-12T18:39:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6aa8745bd7180975ac726bac8f397401.webp","width":1024,"height":775},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6678#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Once an engineer with a bright future, Martinez murder suspect’s life collapsed over 18 months"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}