Police closed a stretch of 67th Avenue near Camelback Road as detectives canvassed homes for video after the pre-dawn shooting.
PHOENIX, AZ — A woman was found shot to death on a roadway in the Maryvale neighborhood early Thursday, Jan. 15, as Phoenix police launched a homicide investigation near 67th Avenue and Highland Avenue, just south of Camelback Road, and shut down traffic in both directions while they processed the scene.
Investigators say officers were dispatched around 1:45 a.m. on a report of an injured person along the curb line. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. On Friday, police identified her as 34-year-old Mariela G. Duarte Gaxiola. Detectives spent hours collecting evidence and speaking with residents in the surrounding blocks for any surveillance footage or details about vehicles or people moving through the area before dawn. No arrests have been announced. The roadway remained closed from Camelback Road to Hazelwood Avenue during the initial investigation as crime scene technicians documented the corridor.
According to a brief department statement, officers arrived and “located an adult woman with at least one gunshot wound,” and fire crews “pronounced the woman deceased” at the scene, the agency said. Patrol officers first secured the block while homicide detectives took over. Investigators have not said what led to the shooting or whether the victim was targeted. Police did not release how many shots were fired, where the rounds struck or what type of firearm may have been used. Detectives canvassed homes on both sides of 67th Avenue and continued interviewing potential witnesses Friday. Officials have not disclosed whether a suspect vehicle description exists or whether shell casings were recovered.
The victim’s name was released after next of kin were notified Friday. Duarte Gaxiola was found close to driveways and side streets that feed into 67th Avenue, a heavily traveled north–south route through Maryvale, a dense residential area on Phoenix’s west side. The time of the call, shortly before the morning commute, added to congestion as officers blocked through traffic and rerouted cars around the crime-scene tape. Police said they were also checking nearby cameras from residences and businesses for inbound and outbound traffic between about 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. The department did not immediately provide information about her movements before the shooting.
Detectives marked the scene with numbered evidence placards and photographed the roadway while traffic officers redirected drivers away from the closure. Neighbors watched from porches as patrol SUVs idled at intersections to preserve the perimeter. Officers expanded the search to side streets and alleys for potential items tossed or dropped after the gunfire. The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death following an autopsy. A timeline for that report was not provided. Police did not say whether a weapon was recovered at or near the scene.
Maryvale is a sprawling neighborhood west of downtown bounded by major arterials like Camelback Road and 67th Avenue, where the shooting occurred. The corridor includes single-family homes, small apartment complexes and local retail. Officers who work the precinct routinely pull traffic camera video and doorbell recordings in violent-crime cases to establish direction of travel and narrow the window in which a shooting could have happened. In this case, detectives emphasized the pre-dawn hour and proximity to residential streets as they looked for cars that passed multiple cameras in quick succession or stopped unexpectedly near the block where Duarte Gaxiola was found.
Police said the investigation remains active, with homicide detectives reviewing overnight tips and conducting follow-up interviews through the weekend. No suspect information or motive has been released. Additional updates are expected after the medical examiner’s findings and any lab results on ballistics or other forensic evidence. Authorities said they will release new details as soon as they are confirmed, including any potential suspect description or vehicle information.
As of Sunday, Jan. 18, the crime scene had been cleared and traffic restored on 67th Avenue. Detectives continue to review neighborhood video and compile a timeline of events, with the next formal update expected after preliminary findings from the medical examiner.
Author note: Last updated January 18, 2026.