Trial ordered in '07 slaying at hair salon

Leonel Hernandez was getting his hair cut by Faviola Hernandez when a man walked into her Glendale salon in 2007.

"He was bald and the first thing I thought was, 'What's he doing getting a haircut? He's bald,' " he testified Thursday. "I heard him ask for money."

Turning around, Leonel Hernandez testified that he saw a gun in his face and was ordered to the floor. Across the room, Faviola Hernandez's little sister, Laura, covered her 6-year-old brother with her body, she testified.

"No, not the kids! Not the kids!" Laura Hernandez recalled her sister saying.

They heard a shot and caught a glimpse of the robber as he fled out the door.

"Faviola was standing there saying, 'He shot me. He shot me,' " Leonel Hernandez said, describing how Faviola Hernandez collapsed to the ground and bled to death.

Across the courtroom, Miguel Mateos-Martinez, 21, slouched in his chair as his attorneys questioned the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses. Mateos-Martinez is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated murder, robbery and aggravated assault in the August 2007 death of Faviola Hernandez at her hair salon at 1329 W. 1300 South.

Defense attorneys noted some inconsistencies in the eyewitness descriptions of the robber and Mateos-Martinez himself. They told Salt Lake police that the killer was 5-foot-8, when Mateos-Martinez is 5-foot-3. They also raised questions about the description of the murder weapon, which has not been found. Shortly after the slaying, police said Mateos-Martinez fled the country and was ultimately extradited to Utah from Mexico last year.

In court Thursday, Judge Michele Christiansen determined there was enough evidence to make Mateos-Martinez stand trial. He will enter a plea at his arraignment on June 12.

"I'm happy right now," Faviola Hernandez's mother, Rosa, said as she left court. "I'm happy he's caught. I'm happy he's here … He's not going anywhere."

E-MAIL: bwinslow@desnews.com