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Maria Marta Campusano appeared hysterical following the June drive-by shooting of her common-law husband in the front yard of their Salt Lake City home.
And given the woman's demeanor and the circumstances, Detective Cody Lougy initially treated her like "the victim of a terrible tragedy," according to testimony Thursday at a 3rd District Court preliminary hearing.
But Lougy later learned Campusano lied to him about a number of things, including that she knew one of the suspects in the shooting and was having an ongoing affair with him.
Following Thursday's hearing, Campusano, 26, was ordered to stand trial on one count of second-degree felony obstructing justice in connection with the murder investigation.
There was no evidence presented to suggest Campusano knew of plans to kill 32-year-old Juan Jose Rubio-Navarro on June 24. Lougy said the two were not married, but Rubio-Navarro was the father of Campusano's two boys, ages 3 and 5.
Jose Adrian Rodriguez-Ramirez, 26, and Jose Gallegos-Mendoza, 25, are charged with first-degree felony murder. Lougy said Thursday that each man blames the other for pulling the trigger and that police do not know which one is the shooter.
According to charging documents, the two men borrowed a friend's 1996 Nissan Sentra the night of June 23.
The next morning at about 6:15 a.m., they drove to Rubio-Navarro's house in the 500 North block of New Star Drive (1790 West), with Gallegos-Mendoza at the wheel and Rodriguez-Ramirez in the passenger seat, charging documents state.
Rubio-Navarro was shot twice in the chest as he sat on a curb in front of his home, waiting for a ride to work.
According to Rodriguez-Ramirez, Gallegos-Mendoza took the gun he had recently sold to Rodriguez-Ramirez and shot Rubio-Navarro twice in the chest.
Gallegos-Mendoza told police the same story, but said it was Rodriguez-Ramirez who fired.
The men agreed that they then drove to 1300 South and 1780 West and dropped the gun in the surplus canal, charging documents state.
Arrested that afternoon, Rodriguez-Ramirez told police that the victim had found out about his affair with Campusano and had been beating the woman, Lougy testified.
"He said he was concerned with her safety and his own," Lougy testified. "He thought if he didn't shoot first, he would be injured."
Lougy said Campusano admitted having "a friend" named Adrian, but said she had no phone number for him and had not spoken to him since December.
Police later found Rodriguez-Ramirez's phone number in Campusano's cell phone under a different name.
Campusano is to be arraigned on the charge on Sept. 27 before Judge Robert Faust.
A preliminary hearing for Rodriguez-Ramirez and Gallegos-Mendoza —who are being held in the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $1 million — is set for Nov. 16 before Faust.
Campusano had been released from jail after posting $25,000 bond, but she is back in jail on an immigration hold.