After law enforcement detained Ivan Reyes-Jimenez, 50, for beating a woman to death with a dumbbell, investigators interviewed him with the help of an interpreter.

Hall County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Richard Sinyard provided Reyes-Jimenez with a copy of his Miranda rights to read along, according to testimony Friday, Feb. 10 in Magistrate Court.

“When we got to the end of it, Mr. Jimenez said, ‘I need an attorney because I’m guilty,’” Sinyard testified.

Reyes-Jimenez appeared in court Friday for a preliminary hearing for charges of malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault of Ana Sofia Martinez Campos, 33. Reyes-Jimenez was accused of hitting Campos repeatedly in the head with a 10-pound dumbbell Jan. 17 at their Crescent Drive home.

Deputies arrived about 6 p.m. to the Crescent Drive home, where Campos’ brother found her deceased in a bed.

The investigator received conflicting information on whether Reyes-Jimenez and Campos were married or boyfriend/girlfriend, though both lived at that address.

Law enforcement issued a be-on-the-lookout notice for Reyes-Jimenez and his black passenger car used for a local taxi company.

Officers from Gainesville Police and the Sheriff’s Office stopped Reyes-Jimenez’s car at a convenience store on E.E. Butler Parkway.

During his initial interview with law enforcement, Reyes-Jimenez told the investigators he hit Campos with a dumbbell. 

The suspect said he was lifting weights while Campos was on the bed studying her Bible.

Based on the wounds to Campos’ head and the crime scene investigation, Sinyard said it appeared Campos was struck at least seven times.

Assistant District Attorney Harold Buckler asked if the 50-year-old man was intoxicated or otherwise impaired. The investigator said Reyes-Jimenez was answering all of the questions asked. Reyes-Jimenez said he had been drinking, but Sinyard testified the man did not appear to be impaired.

While the investigators were in Magistrate Court taking out warrants, Magistrate Judge Margaret Gregory informed them that Reyes-Jimenez wanted to talk with them again.

After going through the Miranda process again, Reyes-Jimenez said the couple had been arguing and she called him a “son of a b—,” which made him strike her out of anger.

Reyes-Jimenez told investigators that the relationship was tumultuous over the eight to nine months they had been together.

Law enforcement was able to recover the bloody clothes and dumbbell after Reyes-Jimenez told them about a cutout in the drywall in the back of a closet.

Neither the defense nor prosecution made any arguments, and Magistrate Court Judge Elizabeth Reisman moved the charges on to Superior Court.