Andrew Jimenez spent 17 years as a firefighter and paramedic with the Glendale Fire Department, responding to emergencies and saving lives. This week, the 45-year-old found himself arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, the 55-year-old Mayra Jimenez.
The grim timeline began early Wednesday morning, January 21, when the firefighter arrived at the LAPD’s Northeast Community Police Station in Glassell Park and requested a welfare check on his wife. He allegedly told officers that he’d been unable to reach her at their North Hollywood home, but when police arrived at the residence, they found Mayra dead from what appeared to be blunt force trauma. An axe was also discovered at the scene.
Half an hour later, at around 4:25 a.m., Andrew was taken into custody, where, according to the latest reports (per NY Post) he confessed to the killing. He was formally charged this Friday with murder, including a sentencing enhancement for use of a deadly weapon. He’s being held without bail, with his arraignment postponed to February 19.
Jimenez’s attorney, Jose Romero, has issued a statement attempting to contextualize the violence. According to him, Jimenez had just discovered evidence of his wife’s infidelity by reading her diary just “moments” before committing the crime.
“Our office is currently in contact with law enforcement regarding a diary of the decedent, apparently read moments before the homicide, that verified infidelity by the decedent,” Romero told the media.
Jimenez must have been brought to unimaginable levels of rage when he read whatever was in that diary, though of course discovering infidelity, however painful, does not justify violence, let alone murder. The emotional devastation of betrayal is real and legitimate. The response to that devastation crossing into lethal violence is neither.
According to the reports, Mayra was bludgeoned to death with an axe—a weapon choice that speaks to the sheer brutality of the attack. The investigators described the scene as horrific and gory.
Mayra Jimenez was a third-grade teacher at Wilshire Park Elementary School. She also served as a nondenominational minister, officiating weddings. The couple had married in November 2014.
Romero also mentioned that his client was a “veteran of the Pacific Palisades fire,” though it’s unclear what relevance that holds in a murder case. The Glendale Fire Department placed Jimenez on administrative leave immediately following his arrest. Fire Chief Jeff Brooks released a statement offering condolences to the victim’s family.
According to the CDC, more than 50% of women murdered in the United States are killed by an intimate partner, no matter what this current administration would like to have you believe. Andrew Jimenez in all likelihood faces life in prison if convicted.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233.
