Valentin Onofre Martinez had gone to buy snacks and drinks for his children before he was fatally stabbed nearby.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — A family trip to a Southern California park ended with three children waiting for a father who would never return after he was fatally stabbed while coming back from a nearby store, according to his family and authorities.
Valentin Onofre Martinez, 31, had taken his children to a park in San Juan Capistrano on Oct. 7 and walked a few blocks away to pick up snacks and drinks, his fiancée, Mia Martinez, told ABC7 Los Angeles. Authorities say he was later found with multiple stab wounds near Calle Santa Barbara and Los Rios Street. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
More than a week after the killing, Mia Martinez said the couple’s children are struggling to understand their father’s absence. She said they continue asking when he is coming home, leaving her to tell them that he will not. No arrests had been announced as of Oct. 16.
Mia Martinez remembered the 31-year-old as a father who structured much of his life around his children. She told ABC7 that he took them to school, picked them up and remained involved in their daily routines even while working nights at Home Depot. His death has left the family dealing not only with grief but also unanswered questions about why he was attacked.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called to the area of Calle Santa Barbara and Los Rios Street at about 8:10 p.m. after witnesses reported seeing a person on the ground with stab wounds. Deputies found Martinez and arranged for him to be transported to a local hospital, where he died.
Several people were detained at the scene on the night of the stabbing, according to the Sheriff’s Department, but officials have not said that those people were responsible for Martinez’s death. No suspect has been publicly identified, and investigators have not announced a motive or explained what happened immediately before the attack.
The department’s homicide investigators and Gang Enforcement Team are investigating. Mia Martinez has pushed back against speculation that her fiancé was associated with a gang and said she believes he may simply have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Authorities have not publicly identified Valentin Martinez as a gang member or established a gang motive in his killing.
For his family, the lack of answers has made the loss more difficult. Mia Martinez said she wants to understand what happened both for herself and for the children, who will eventually have their own questions about why their father died.
The Sheriff’s Department continues to seek information from anyone who may know something about the stabbing. Authorities have said they do not believe there is a continuing threat to the public, according to ABC7, but the investigation remains open.
As investigators work to determine who killed Martinez and why, his children are confronting the permanent absence of a parent their mother described as part of their everyday lives. No arrest or criminal charge in the case had been announced by Oct. 16.
Author note: Last updated October 16, 2026.