Gina Martin: Colorado Woman Killed at Vegas Rental Car Office; Ex-fiancé Charged

Gina Martin, 36, was just days away from celebrating her birthday before being allegedly shot to death by her former ex-fiancé.

Martin, who had moved to Colorado, was back in Vegas to mark her 37th birthday when she was confronted by the man, according to authorities.

Las Vegas police said Martin and her current boyfriend were both shot on Saturday, August 3, 2024, while retrieving their rental car behind the Avis on Sahara and Decatur Saturday afternoon.

“She didn’t celebrate herself a lot, so this year she was like, ‘I want to celebrate myself. I want to come to Vegas, hang out with my friends and family,’” her friend Ivan Williams told TV station 8 Now News in Vegas. 

Williams said the incident had all the hallmarks of a domestic shooting.

“It’s just been, like, a series of him harassing her. I know that for a fact. He’s done it once when she was with me, like constantly calling her, trying to figure out where she was at.” Williams told the TV station. “The last communication I actually had with Gina was me telling her, ‘Hey, Fred’s in my Instagram stories,’ and that was probably an hour before he killed her.”

Police identified the suspect as 37-year-old Frederick Lee Blanche Jr., who has been arrested. Officers said the shooting was captured on surveillance camera.

According to court documents unveiled during a hearing, Sean Martin, the victim’s brother, alerted law enforcement that Blanche had contacted him and told him he was going to kill his sister.

The brother asked Blanche to come to his house so they could talk things over, which he did. During that interaction, Blanche told the brother that he was going to show up at Martin’s birthday party. Martin’s brother told police he tried to reach his sister to warn her, but was unable to. He told police that minutes after the shooting, he received a text from Blanche that read, “She’s gone.”

Martin lives behind an 18-year-old son.