The Amber Trudell case ended with a Pima County jury convicting Trudell of second-degree murder in July 2005 for shooting Michael Dojaquez, a 45-year-old Tucson yoga instructor, on the front porch of his midtown home. She was sentenced to 13 years in prison, and the Arizona Court of Appeals later upheld the conviction.
The Shooting on Dojaquez’s Porch
Michael Dojaquez was found shot to death at his midtown Tucson home on September 26, 2003.1KOLD News 13. Hung Jury in Trudell Case He taught at Yoga Oasis in Tucson. His daughter Brianna later remembered his catchphrase, “Keep it squeezy,” and his mother Lydia called him “the perfect antidote” to the world’s sadness.2KOLD News 13. Trudell Sentenced for Yoga Instructor’s Murder
Amber Trudell was 30 and married to Justin Trudell at the time, and she had been having an affair with Dojaquez. Prosecutors said the conflict that ended in the shooting grew out of Dojaquez’s decision to end the relationship while Trudell wanted him to marry her.3Murderpedia. Amber Trudell At the second trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Dojaquez had been crouching, apparently trying to clean up broken glass from a window, when Trudell shot him through the forehead.4KOLD News 13. Trudell Murder Trial Once Again Lands in the Hands of a Jury
Flight to New York and Arrest
Trudell did not call the police. She and Justin drove to Show Low, Arizona, and buried the gun. She then left the state alone, passing through Connecticut before settling at a relative’s home in Ogdensburg, New York. She also told her mother-in-law that she had done “something bad.”5Murderpedia. State v. Trudell, 2 CA-CR 2005-0371 U.S. Marshals and New York State Police arrested her in Ogdensburg on October 23, 2003, less than a month after the killing.3Murderpedia. Amber Trudell
A First Trial That Ended in a Hung Jury
A Pima County grand jury indicted Trudell on first-degree murder.5Murderpedia. State v. Trudell, 2 CA-CR 2005-0371 Her first trial went before Judge Richard S. Fields of Pima County Superior Court, and jurors were instructed to consider first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter. Trudell testified that Dojaquez had sexually assaulted and beaten her that evening, then became despondent and shot himself. She said she had a gun in her hand but claimed Dojaquez put it to his own forehead.1KOLD News 13. Hung Jury in Trudell Case
Jurors deadlocked over the legal meaning of “sudden” and “heat of passion,” which separate murder from manslaughter. They reported that agreement was “impossible,” and Judge Fields declared a mistrial in March 2005. Prosecutor Susan Eazer announced the state would retry the case.1KOLD News 13. Hung Jury in Trudell Case
The Second Trial and the Conviction
The retrial went forward in the summer of 2005. Jurors again heard instructions on first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter, and the court refused a defense request to add negligent homicide as a lesser option.5Murderpedia. State v. Trudell, 2 CA-CR 2005-0371
The evidence against Trudell included her own admission on the stand that she held the loaded gun and allowed it to be pointed at Dojaquez’s head, her flight from Arizona, the burial of the weapon, and her statement to her mother-in-law. Jurors afterward said Trudell’s own testimony was a primary reason for their decision. On July 15, 2005, the jury convicted her of second-degree murder, rejecting both the first-degree charge and manslaughter.3Murderpedia. Amber Trudell
Sentencing to 13 Years
Trudell was sentenced in Tucson on October 17, 2005. Prosecutor Kathleen Mayer asked for the maximum of 16 years, arguing that even if Trudell had not planned the killing, she was the one who “drew the gun that would kill him.” Public Defender Tom Martin asked for 10 years, citing Trudell’s history of childhood sexual abuse, which he said “possibly clouded her judgement through life,” and telling the court that Dojaquez’s own “humanistic view of life” meant he would not have wanted the maximum.2KOLD News 13. Trudell Sentenced for Yoga Instructor’s Murder
Dojaquez’s family spoke before the sentence was imposed. His 20-year-old daughter Brianna said the sentence was not enough: “I think she should have gotten the rest of her life, because that’s how long I get to spend without my dad.” His brother Robert told Trudell, “I can only think that you are a woman with no conscience and no guilt. And for you to pull the trigger that night and kill my brother, I have not yet found it in my heart to forgive you.”2KOLD News 13. Trudell Sentenced for Yoga Instructor’s Murder
The judge imposed a 13-year prison term. Under Arizona law, Trudell was required to serve 85 percent of that sentence, and she received credit for 725 days already served in jail.3Murderpedia. Amber Trudell
Appeal and the Negligent Homicide Question
Trudell appealed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division Two. The central issue was the trial court’s refusal to instruct the jury on negligent homicide. The appellate court held that even if the refusal was error, it was harmless. By convicting Trudell of second-degree murder, the jury had necessarily found that she either intentionally or knowingly caused Dojaquez’s death, or that she recklessly created a grave risk of death under circumstances showing extreme indifference to human life. That finding sat above the lower threshold of criminal negligence, so the jury had already rejected the mental state that a negligent-homicide verdict would require.5Murderpedia. State v. Trudell, 2 CA-CR 2005-0371