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Mauricio Ibarra Juarez, 33, entered an Alford plea on May 23 for a first-degree murder charge in connection to the killing of Marta Merina over three years ago.

Judge Philip Cronan handed down a life sentence with all but 75 years suspended.

“I am confident that Mr. Juarez will spend the rest of his life in prison for this heinous crime,� said Talbot County State’s Attorney Joseph Coale in a press release.

An Alford plea allows a person to maintain their innocence while acknowledging the state had enough evidence to obtain a conviction. Five other counts levied against Juarez — including second-degree murder and first-degree assault charges — will not be prosecuted.

The morning of the murder, police responded to Howell Point Road in Trappe for a reported shooting. Merina, 33, was found outside her home and pronounced dead on the scene.

A few days later, following an investigation, Maryland State Police issued a warrant for Juarez in connection to the murder.

Per the recent state’s attorney’s office press release, investigators traced a phone found at the scene to Juarez. They also worked with police in Virginia — where Juarez lived at the time — to match a vehicle driven by Juarez to what was found on nearby security footage the night of the murder, according to court documents.

Juarez was located by Mexican authorities for an unrelated crime in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2022. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs worked with Mexican prosecutors to request Juarez’s provisional arrest. Extradition was granted later that year, but was deferred pending completion of Juarez’s sentence in Mexico.

Last October, Juarez was extradited to Maryland. His 75-year sentence will credit back to February 2023. Juarez is being held without bond.