Manuel Martinez spent weeks receiving medical care before authorities linked his death to injuries allegedly inflicted by Troy Yazzie.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — For more than two months after an April confrontation with his roommate, 76-year-old Manuel Martinez remained alive while police investigated the encounter as a serious assault. His later death changed the direction of the case, leading homicide detectives to pursue 31-year-old Troy Yazzie on a second-degree murder allegation.
The progression from an assault call to a homicide charge is central to the case. Martinez was able to speak with officers after the April 30 confrontation and describe what he said happened inside the West Phoenix home he shared with Yazzie. He was then taken to a hospital with major injuries and continued receiving medical care for weeks. Police later said Martinez’s condition worsened and that he died from injuries connected to the assault, prompting the department’s homicide unit to take over and seek Yazzie’s arrest.
Medical details reported from court documents show why investigators continued following Martinez’s condition after the initial police response. AZFamily reported that a CT scan showed several facial fractures that required surgery. Other court-document reporting described facial fractures and bleeding around the brain. Martinez eventually left the hospital for rehabilitation, but his medical problems did not end there. AZFamily reported that he developed complications after entering a rehabilitation facility and was returned to a Phoenix hospital as his condition deteriorated.
The exact date of Martinez’s death is inconsistent across the available public reporting. Phoenix police information cited by KTAR and the Arizona Daily Independent says he died July 11. AZFamily, citing court documents, reported that he died July 15. The difference is material enough that neither date should be presented as undisputed without attribution. What the reports consistently say is that authorities concluded the death was tied to blunt-force injuries associated with the April 30 confrontation.
That conclusion turned attention back to what Martinez had told officers on the night he was injured. Police said he called 911 shortly before 10:30 p.m. from an apartment complex around 2400 West Hazelwood Street, near 23rd Avenue. Martinez said he had argued with Yazzie about an electric bill. According to court records summarized by several outlets, Martinez had given Yazzie $50 to make the payment. When the bill remained unpaid, Martinez asked for the money to be returned.
Investigators allege that the financial disagreement then became physical. The arrest affidavit cited by Law&Crime says Martinez accused Yazzie of becoming angry and striking him repeatedly in the face with a white construction helmet. AZFamily reported that Martinez also said Yazzie punched him. Officers arriving at the apartment found Martinez with visible injuries, according to the reports, but Yazzie was no longer there. Martinez was able to give police his account before an ambulance took him for treatment.
The emergency call offered investigators information separate from Martinez’s later statement. An affidavit cited by Law&Crime says a male voice could be heard in the background asking whether Martinez was calling police. The public record reviewed for this story does not independently identify that speaker, but investigators included the recording in their description of the encounter. The call is significant because it was made immediately after the alleged violence, before Martinez entered a long period of hospital and rehabilitation care.
The case remained active while Martinez was being treated. Reporting based on court documents says officers recovered a construction hard hat outside the apartment complex the following day. Police also worked to determine Yazzie’s location after he left the scene. At that stage, however, Martinez was still alive, and authorities had not yet publicly treated the matter as a homicide. His changing medical condition ultimately altered both the investigative unit responsible for the case and the criminal allegation Yazzie would face.
After Martinez died, Phoenix police said detectives with the Violent Crimes Bureau Homicide Unit assumed the investigation. Detectives determined that Yazzie had moved to Flagstaff, according to the department’s account. Other reporting based on court records said investigators obtained information through a probation officer who knew Yazzie intended to stay with his mother in Flagstaff. Phoenix detectives coordinated with Flagstaff police, who arrested Yazzie on July 28.
Yazzie was then returned to Phoenix and booked in connection with Martinez’s death. Multiple reports say a judge set his bond at $1 million. Authorities charged him with one count of second-degree murder, a Class 1 felony under Arizona law. The statute covers several forms of homicide committed without premeditation, including knowingly causing death or serious physical injury that results in death, as well as reckless conduct creating a grave risk of death under circumstances showing extreme indifference to human life.
The charge places a particular focus on the link between the April injuries and Martinez’s death weeks later. Prosecutors in a homicide case must establish the elements of the charged offense, and here the state’s theory as described publicly depends on the assertion that injuries from the April 30 assault caused the medical complications that ended in Martinez’s death. Reports say a preliminary medical finding attributed his death to blunt-force trauma. The complete medical-examiner record and any later expert testimony were not available in the sources reviewed.
Police also obtained statements from Yazzie after his arrest, according to reports based on court documents. AZFamily said Yazzie acknowledged punching Martinez and striking him with his construction helmet. Law&Crime reported that the affidavit said he did not claim self-defense and that he recognized Martinez was older and that striking an older person could result in serious injury or death. Those reported statements are part of the prosecution’s investigative record; they are not themselves a judicial finding of guilt.
The delayed homicide allegation distinguishes this case from one in which a person dies at the scene and homicide detectives immediately begin a death investigation. Martinez was conscious enough to call for police, speak with officers and enter treatment. His survival created a medical timeline that extended from late April into July. That interval may become significant in court because prosecutors will have to establish the causal relationship between the alleged attack, Martinez’s subsequent medical problems and his eventual death.
The passage of time also means several kinds of evidence could carry different importance than they would in an immediate-death case. Martinez’s statement to responding officers documented his account close to the alleged assault. The 911 recording captured part of the scene as it was unfolding. Medical records track his condition after hospitalization, while the recovered helmet and statements attributed to Yazzie may be offered to support the state’s account of the physical confrontation. Public reporting does not establish how a court will rule on any evidentiary questions involving those materials.
As of the latest reliable information reviewed through Sept. 8, Yazzie faced the second-degree murder accusation stemming from Martinez’s death. No final verdict or other disposition of that homicide charge was identified in the material reviewed. The unresolved prosecution therefore rests on a sequence spanning more than two months: an argument over $50, an alleged attack, prolonged medical treatment, Martinez’s death and a homicide investigation that ultimately led police to Flagstaff.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.