Inset: Hussein "Sam" Murray (Instagram). Background: Amanda Hernandez in court for her sentencing (Law&Crime).
A Michigan judge told a woman who admitted her role in a deadly home invasion, "You were all in on this."
Amanda Hernandez, 34, learned her fate on Wednesday after pleading no contest to conspiracy to commit first-degree home invasion, conspiracy to commit false personation of a public utility worker, and accessory after the fact to a felony. The charges came in connection with the home invasion and murder of 72-year-old Hussein "Sam" Murray on Oct. 11, 2024, when Amanda Hernandez's husband, 40-year-old Carlos Hernandez, and 41-year-old Joshua Zuazo, posed as gas company employees and entered Murray's home.
Prosecutors said that texts sent by Amanda Hernandez to her husband proved that she was involved in the planning of the home invasion.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the Hernandezes exchanged nearly 100 text messages in which they allegedly talked about how the scheme would unfold the day before Murray's murder. Prosecutors presented these texts during trial, which were also obtained by local NBC affiliate WDIV. Among the messages were an alleged confirmation from Amanda Hernandez that the fake DTE badges "were delivered," a reminder to "[t]urn your phone off when you're out there just in case," relief that the men had "a good getaway car," and another reminder to make sure "there was no cameras around."
The couple also allegedly talked about what they would buy with the money the two men would steal from the Murrays, including "enough money to buy a house." Amanda Hernandez allegedly longed for a home with "no rent," adding, "we can have a nice backyard."
Those texts were brought up during Amanda Hernandez's sentencing hearing, as Murray's wife and sons spoke to the court before the sentence was handed down.
Linda Murray, Murray's wife, was also attacked during the home invasion. She was restrained on the upper floor of the house while her husband was being beaten to death by Carlos Hernandez and Zuazo in the basement. Linda Murray addressed Amanda Hernandez directly, saying, "Amanda, maybe instead of looking for the easy way to get a house with a big yard, and if you and your husband had worked as hard as my husband did, you might have had one without planning to rob us and getting my husband killed."
Before handing down her sentence, Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Nanci Grant revisited the texts and told Amanda Hernandez, "You are not an innocent victim. You were all in on this."
According to online court records, Grant sentenced Amanda Hernandez to 57 months to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit first-degree home invasion, one to five years for accessory after the fact to a felony, and one to two years for conspiracy to commit false personation of a public utility worker. Amanda Hernandez received credit for 197 days served.
Carlos Hernandez and Zuazo were both found guilty of murdering Murray and his wife and sentenced to life in prison in December 2025.
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