TAMPA — A memorial celebrating the life of Emilio J. Martinez-Rodriguez, the man found dead eight days after going to get food for his pregnant wife, will be held today, a family member said.
The remembrance will be at 11 a.m. at Grace Family Church, 5101 Van Dyke Road in Lutz, the church he had attended.
Martinez-Rodriguez, 34, left his Wellswood home Dec. 15 to get Chinese food for his wife, Kacee Martinez. She found evidence he had returned — a grocery bag with root beer in the driveway — but had not made it inside. Police feared for his safety.
Maintenance workers found Martinez-Rodriguez's body and car in a vacant lot about 8 miles from his home Thursday.
Tampa police said his death was a homicide, but declined to provide details. Andy Urso, who is Kacee's father, said he also had not heard of new developments.
Martinez-Rodriguez, from Puerto Rico, joined the Army and was with the 82nd Airborne in Fort Bragg, N.C. He later took a job in Tampa and most recently was Nextran Trucking supervisor.
The couple married four years ago. Kacee is about 15 weeks pregnant with their first child.
Loading...