Virginia carjacker who ran over woman with her own SUV pleads guilty to murder

A man living in the U.S. without legal status pleaded guilty Thursday to carjacking a woman in Sterling, Virginia, last year and running her over with her own vehicle, killing her.

Melody Waldecker, a mother and grandmother, was the victim. She was 54.

Video submitted in court shows the moment Jose Aguilar-Martinez, 21, hopped into her SUV outside a 7-Eleven.

Waldecker stood at the register of the Town Center at Sterling store. Video shows a man get into her running vehicle, parked just outside the front door.

She ran outside to try to stop the carjacking. She grabbed the door handle, and the carjacker slammed the vehicle into gear, pulling Waldecker to the ground. Prosecutors said the carjacker ran Waldecker over.

A couple driving by at the moment of the crime saw what happened and then witnessed the carjacker speed off. On video, a woman can be heard gasping in reaction to what she saw.

Waldecker died on the scene on July 28, 2024, deputies said.

She had been visiting Loudoun County from Silver Spring that day to visit her ailing mother.

After a manhunt, police arrested Jose Aguilar-Martinez. He was visiting Virginia from California.

In Loudoun County court on Thursday, he accepted a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and multiple other felonies.

Shortly after his arrest, ICE issued an immigration detainer on Aguilar-Martinez, which is the first step in the deportation process. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has a 287(g) agreement with ICE, which allows local deputies to work with federal immigration officers to a certain extent.

Sheriff Mike Chapman has told News4 in the past that it would be his preference that criminals serve their time before entering the deportation process.

Aguilar-Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

Waldecker’s family was in court for the plea but did not wish to comment.