A man found shot dead inside a car in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was a Realtor who was showing a nearby home to prospective buyers, according to Philadelphia police.
Orlando Martinez, a 54-year-old Realtor who lived in nearby Westville, New Jersey, was discovered in front of a Philadelphia building block on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 31.
The Realtor suffered a gunshot wound to the jaw and was left fighting for his life inside a locked Honda vehicle. The home, listed for sale and located in the 4500 block of Philadelphia’s Oakmont Street, had Martinez’s realty sign placed in one of the homes’ front yards.
Police suspect that Martinez could have been in the car for as much as a full day before officers arrived. Officers were called after Martinez’s family got worried that he didn’t come home for the night on Oct. 30. Once discovered, Martinez was rushed to a nearby hospital but died soon after.
“He was found inside a vehicle, and he may have been there for a day,” Sgt. Eric Gripp of the Philadelphia Police told Inman. “The only thing that we will say is that we believe he knew who the killer was. It wasn’t random.”
Martinez was likely shot on 10/30. He was found in his vehicle outside a home he was showing to prospective buyers. @6abc pic.twitter.com/UYnpvJQww9
— Maggie Kent (@MaggieKent6abc) November 1, 2018
At the moment, local police do not have either suspects or a motive and are working to investigate Martinez’s death. A $20,000 reward is being offered in exchange for details related to the case.
“He has no priors, he’s not on our radar, he’s a family guy working for a living doing real estate,” Capt. John Ryan of the Philadelphia Homicide Unit told a local outlet.
Meanwhile, real estate agents in Philadelphia and New Jersey have been expressing their shock and sorrow about the strange death of their community member.
“Sad news to hear about the passing of one of our peers,” Jason Rodriguez, a Realtor at Legal Realty LLC in Philadelphia, wrote on Facebook. “We have to wait for all of the details to come out, but we Realtors have [to] be very careful out here.”
