A Loudoun County judge on March 27, 2026, handed 23-year-old Jose Ulises Aguilar‑Martinez two concurrent life sentences plus another 13 years for the July 28, 2024, carjacking that killed 54-year-old grandmother Melody Waldecker. The punishment went beyond Virginia’s sentencing guidelines and effectively ensures Aguilar‑Martinez will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
What happened
The fatal carjacking unfolded just before noon on July 28, 2024, outside a 7‑Eleven in the Town Center at Sterling, in the 21000 block of Towncenter Plaza, where Waldecker had left her SUV running while she stepped inside the store, according to The Washington Post. Deputies found Waldecker lying on the pavement and pronounced her dead at the scene, and a suspect was…..