A California father of three was killed while returning from a quick trip to buy snacks and drinks for his children, leaving his grieving fiancée struggling to explain why their dad will never come home.
Valentin Onofre Martinez, 31, had taken his children to a park in San Juan Capistrano on the evening of October 7 when he decided to walk to a nearby store.
His three children, ages 3, 5 and 7, were waiting for him to return when tragedy struck just blocks away.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded around 8:10 p.m. to reports of an injured man near Calle Santa Barbara and Los Rios Street.
When officers arrived, they discovered Martinez suffering from multiple stab wounds.
Emergency responders rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators detained several people at the scene that evening, but as of October 16, no arrests had been announced.
The circumstances surrounding the stabbing remain unclear, and authorities have not publicly identified a suspect or established a motive.
For Martinez’s fiancée, Mia, the nightmare began when she heard emergency sirens and received a phone call that something had happened nearby.
She rushed to the neighborhood, only to find police had already secured the area.
“When I got here, everything was already completely blocked off with the caution tape. Hundreds of police,” she told ABC7 Los Angeles.
She soon learned that her fiancé, the father of her three young children, had died.
Now, the family is facing the painful reality of life without him.
“They just keep asking for their dad. When is daddy coming back? And I just have to keep telling them that he’s not coming back,” Mia said.
According to Mia, Martinez was a hardworking and devoted father who organized his life around his children.
He worked overnight shifts at Home Depot but still made time to take the children to school, pick them up and spend his days with them.
“A father that was there every day of his kids life. He never missed a day,” she recalled.
Mia also spoke out against speculation surrounding the killing, particularly suggestions that Martinez may have been involved in gang activity.
She strongly disputed those claims, saying she believes her fiancé was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“They’re trying to paint this as something that it’s not, which is gang-related,” she told ABC7.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has assigned its Homicide and Gang Enforcement Team to investigate the killing. However, officials have not publicly confirmed that the incident was gang-related.
The involvement of that investigative unit does not, by itself, establish a gang connection.
As detectives continue gathering evidence, Mia says she wants answers about what happened and why the father of her children was killed.
She hopes those answers will eventually help her family understand a loss that has changed their lives.
Martinez’s loved ones have also organized a GoFundMe campaign to help cover funeral expenses, with an initial fundraising goal of $15,000.
His mother described him as a hardworking man who cared deeply for his family.
“He was a hardworking man, and he took so much care of his family,” she wrote in the fundraiser.
The killing has left a family mourning and a Southern California community waiting for answers.
San Juan Capistrano, located in southern Orange County, is known for its historic mission, residential neighborhoods and family-friendly parks. The attack occurred during what had begun as an ordinary evening outing for Martinez and his children.
Authorities have released few details about what led to the confrontation, whether Martinez knew the person responsible or whether investigators believe the attack was targeted.
The sheriff’s department is asking anyone with information to contact investigators at 714-647-7000. Anonymous tips can also be provided through Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.
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