Estranged husband accused of killing wife as she shielded her children arrested in Marina

MARINA, Calif. (KION/KSEE/KGPE) A Madera man accused of killing his estranged wife as she shielded her three children from gunfire was arrested in Marina Tuesday.

Madera police told the CBS affiliate in Madera that the shooting happened Tuesday at around 2:30 p.m. outside the Camarena Healthcare Clinic. The victim had been there for an appointment, and they said the suspect allegedly stalked her there and waited for her to come out.

Madera police said the suspect, Julio Garay, had a long history of domestic violence arrests and had recently bailed out of jail on a domestic violence charge against the victim in Chowchilla.

When the woman was walking to her vehicle, police said she was confronted by Garay.

“She was shot once; she ran over to the van and laid over her three children to save them. At that point she sustained two more gunshot wounds,” Madera Police Chief Dino Lawson told the station in Madera. “A cold-blooded act in front of the mother’s children, or even taking a life in the first place, but to do it in front of your own children and the mother, being a mother sacrificed her own life and laid across the body of her children to save them.”

The three children were all 6 years old or younger, and they were not injured.

Tuesday night, Marina officers were informed about the case and checked the area to find Garay's vehicle. It was found at a motel in the 3100 block of Del Monte Boulevard, and police found out which room he was staying in.

Madera police got arrest and search warrants, so the Monterey Peninsula Special Response Unit was called it to serve the warrants.

Marina police said Garay surrendered and was arrested. He was handed over to the Madera Police Department and transported to the Madera County Jail. He was charged with homicide.