DTE impostors murder: Wife of Rochester Hills killer headed to trial after waiving preliminary examination

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (FOX 2) - A woman accused of playing a part in a murder plot that involved her husband posing as a DTE worker to get inside the victim's home is headed to trial for her connection to the crime.

Amanda Hernandez, 34, of Lincoln Park, is headed to trial after waiving her right to a preliminary examination on Monday.

She was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree home invasion, accessory after the fact, and conspiracy to commit false impersonation of a utility worker a month after her husband, Carlos Hernandez, was sentenced to life in prison for the 2024 murder in Rochester Hills.

The backstory:

Her husband and a second man, Joshua Zuazo, posed as DTE workers to gain access to Hussein "Sam" Murray's home before killing him in October 2024. Amanda Hernandez is accused of playing "an active role in the planning and cover-up of the crime."

Carlos Hernandez and Zuazo first went to the victim's home on Newcastle Drive the night before the murder, claiming they were with DTE and were there to check a gas leak. When Hussein Murray's wife, Linda Murray, did not let them in, they said they would come back the next day, and they did.

During that visit, the men were let into the house and led down to the basement. Linda testified that Carlos Hernandez and Zuazo then came back upstairs without her husband, and Carlos Hernandez repeatedly asked her where the money, safe, and jewelry was.

When she asked the men about where her husband was, she said Zuazo told her "he was asleep." She said she then saw blood on his vest and screamed. She claimed Carlos Hernandez struck her when covering her mouth, asking her to be quiet. She was then bound with duct tape.

Items were then taken from the house by the suspects, including jewelry and cash.

Both Carlos Hernandez and Zuazo were found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life in prison.

Text messages implicate wife

Text messages revealed in court during Carlos Hernandez's trial reveal how much his wife allegedly knew about the plot, and the role she played in it.

The conversations between Carlos and Amanda Hernandez spanned several months in 2024 in the lead-up to Murray's grisly murder.

The messages appeared to show Amanda was aware of what her husband and Zuazo had planned to do.

"Remember what I said if you have to leave with nothing that's ok your the most important," she texted Carlos in September 2024.

"I know baby," he responded. "I'll text u when we make it up there."

"As long as you know your life and freedom is important to me," she replied.

Text messages showed that Amanda Hernandez allegedly helped the men make fake DTE badges, and discussed hoping that the pair would get enough money to buy a house.

Read more of the messages here.

The Source: Previous reporting was used in this story.