Horrific details of LA firefighter’s alleged ax murder of wife revealed in court testimony

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A California firefighter accused of hacking his wife to death with a pickax allegedly inflicted 32 chop wounds on her body — including 25 to her head and neck — leaving her so brutally disfigured that a detective testified “her face was gone.”

Andrew Jimenez, a Glendale firefighter, is accused of the horrific Jan. 21 murder of his wife, Mayra Jimenez, a 46-year-old schoolteacher, inside their North Hollywood home.

Detective Jason Haggis described the grisly scene Wednesday in court, where Mayra was found decapitated in the couple’s bedroom, surrounded by blood and with a pickax propped beside her body.

“She was lying partially covered, hanging off the bed, head off, right hand dangling. There was blood spatter on her sandals, the bed, the door, and other items in the room,” Haggis testified.

“There was a significant amount of blood, skull fragments, brain matter. Quite frankly, her face was gone,” he said.

The courtroom gallery was filled with over 20 colleagues and loved ones of the 46-year-old-school teacher, who wore LA Dodgers T-shirts in her honor emblazoned with the words “Mayra Forever” on the back.

They gasped as a picture of Mayra was displayed in bed in the aftermath of the murder, her white sheets covered in blood. 

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Another photo showed a pick axe with its handle facing up and resting at the side of the bed, “covered in blood and just two feet from the body,” Haggis explained.

Jimenez, who appeared in court wearing orange jumpsuit and shackles, looked up at the photos as they were presented.

The medical examiner identified 32 chop wounds to Mayra’s body, including 25 to the head and neck, as well as“internal decapitation of neck, and a brain tumor caused by a large pick head ax.”

One wound on her left temple matched the pick end of the ax found at the scene, according to prosecutors. 

The medical examiner determined death was cause by “chop wounds” that matched the ax. Mayra was pronounced dead at 4:45am on January 21 and was identified by the medical examiner via fingerprints, prosecutor Kelsey Unger said.

She held back from showing an “extremely graphic” shot of the victim’s face. 

“That was really hard, I’m glad they didn’t show all of them,” a friend of Mayra who was shaken up after the hearing told the California Post.

Investigators also testified about a spat the couple had at a LA Kings Hockey game in early January, hinting that Jimenez’s motive for allegedly killing his wife was infidelity. 

“The defendant started saying Myra was cheating on him and he had proof, screen shots from Myra’s phone that was proof,” Haggis said.

An officer also testified that she was flagged down by Jimenez, his mother, father and son as she was entering the police station in her patrol car shortly before 4 a.m., the morning the body was discovered.

 “He said he did something and he was going to stand by at the station while we did a welfare check,” Detective Erica Pedrosa said.

The judge ruled that there was enough evidence to proceed to trial.

Jimenez is charged with murder and expected back in court for an arraignment on November 4. He faces 26 years to life in prison.