The case against the wife of one of the convicted killers of a Rochester Hills businessman has advanced to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial.
Amanda Ileana Hernandez, 34, of Lincoln Park is facing charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree home invasion, accessory after the fact and conspiracy to commit false impersonation of a utility worker in connection with the 2024 death and robbery of jewelry store owner Hussein “Sam” Murray. The case was bound over on March 30 after Hernandez waived her right to a preliminary exam which had been scheduled for that day before 52-3 District Judge Nancy Carniak.
Amanda Hernandez’s husband, Carlos Hernandez, 39, and Joshua Zuazo, 40, impersonated DTE employees investigating a gas leak to gain entry into Murray’s home. Murray took them to his basement and was fatally beaten. Carlos Hernandez and Zuazo are serving life sentences after being convicted of first-degree felony murder and unlawful imprisonment of Murray and his wife, Linda Murray.
According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, an ongoing investigation indicated Amanda Hernandez “played an active role in the planning and cover-up of the crime.”
Oakland County Jail
Amanda Hernandez booking photo
Amanda Hernandez is held in the Oakland County Jail on a $150,000 bond. Arraignment in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for April 8 before Judge Nanci Grant.
Sam Murray, 72, was found dead Oct. 11, 2024 in the basement of his Rochester Hills home on Newcastle Drive. Linda Murray had been in the kitchen while the fatal beating occurred, unaware of what was happening to her husband. Carlos Hernandez and Zuazo then came back upstairs, restrained Linda Murray with duct tape and robbed the home. She later freed herself and called 911.
Murray was owner of Gold & Glitter Jewelry and Hamtramck Pawn on Joseph Campau Street in Hamtramck.
Security camera footage from the home of Hussein Murray is shown as evidence during a preliminary hearing for Carlos Hernandez (left) and Joshua Zuazo (right) during a December 2024 preliminary exam in 52-3 District Court (David Guralnick, MediaNews Group)
Conspiracy to commit first-degree home invasion is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. Accessory after the fact carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine, and conspiracy to commit false impersonation of a utility worker is punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a $1,000 fine.
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