Amherst man pleads guilty to attempted murder in fatal 2020 arson

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — An Amherst man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder in a fatal arson on Concord Avenue in Buffalo in 2020.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office announced that Daniel A. Martinez, 50, pleaded guilty Thursday in Erie County Court to one count of attempted second-degree murder.

The district attorney’s office said that on Sept. 30, 2020, Martinez intentionally set a fire inside his girlfriend’s residence on the first floor of a multi-family home on Concord Avenue in Buffalo. The intended victim was not home at the time, but her mother, Maria Galazka, was sleeping in a nearby bedroom. Galazka suffered multiple burns and smoke inhalation and was transported to ECMC where she later died on Nov. 5, 2020, her 66th birthday.^th birthday.

A Buffalo firefighter was also injured. He was transported to ECMC where he was treated and released.

Martinez faces up to 25 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4.

The prosecutor said prosecutors had asked that Martinez be remanded in custody pending sentencing. He remains free on bail set at $500,000 cash or surety.