Colorado Security Guard Arrested For Murder Found With Severed Hand In His Pocket

When murder suspect Solomon Martinez, a Colorado security guard, was arrested in early January 2024, police discovered he had a severed hand in his pocket. The Pueblo Chieftain reported that Martinez had the hand in a plastic bag in the left chest pocket of his jacket. Martinez told police the hand had been in his pocket for two days. The 26-year-old man was charged with first-degree murder.

In a press release, the Pueblo Police Department shared that they arrived at Fountain Creek on Jan. 10, 2024, after a report of a homicide, and they found a deceased female in Fountain Creek. KRDO reported that she had been decapitated, and her death is under investigation as a homicide.

The victim has been identified as Renee Portillo. Martinez told police that he had hired Portillo as an escort the night before she was found dead.

Before allegedly disposing of Portillo’s body, Martinez asked his roommate, Joshua Mazzurco, for help.

According to KKTV, Mazzurco said that Martinez asked him, “You want to absolve $1,000 off your debt? I need a ten-foot hole.” When Mazzurco assumed he was kidding, Martinez said, “I’m not playing around.”

Mazzurco refused to help Martinez and explained, “I was terrified. I was beyond terrified. Like, I can’t even put into words how physically scared I was.”

Although Mazzurco did not help Martinez, he did observe his roommate washing the victim’s blood from his hands.

KKTV revealed that a witness saw Martinez drag Portillo’s body to the river. They refused to help but did linger to take a video of the situation to cover for himself. According to PEOPLE, the witness showed the video to several people. He saw the body had been beheaded but saw the victim’s head.

At the time of Martinez’s arrest, he was working as a security guard and was arrested at his place of employment. He was working for former Pueblo County Sheriff Dan Corsentino's security guard company. Corsentino told KRDO that Martinez didn’t have a criminal history and that he passed all background checks before he was hired the month before his arrest.

The investigation is ongoing. If you have any information that might help, you’re encouraged to contact Pueblo Police dispatch at 719-553-2502 or Detective Jose Medina at 719-553-3296. It’s possible to remain anonymous by contacting Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 719-542-STOP (719- 542-7867) or www.pueblocrimestoppers.com. Anyone who provides information leading to a felony arrest in the case could be eligible for a cash reward, according to the Pueblo Police Department.