Suspect released in Joe Knight murder case; Avondale PD investigation continues

AVONDALE, Ariz. (FOX 10) -- It's a murder case that gained a lot of attention because of a search warrant that was submitted to Google.

Who shot and killed 29-year-old Joe Knight last March 14th as he rode his bike to his Avondale home?

Avondale police detectives arrested 24-year-old Jorge Molina after they say a search warrant seeking information from Google helped narrow down suspects to him.

In court documents, Avondale detectives say Google provided GPS, location, search history and other information from Molina's device and Google account.

"That information together combined gave us probable cause to believe Jorge Molina was involved in that homicide," said Officer Jaret Redfearn.

Molina was arrested in December 2018, but a week later, he was released. A free man, but Avondale police say it doesn't mean they got the wrong guy.

"We just felt it was best for the community, Jorge Molina and for everybody involved if he was released at this time. It's not 100% clear what his status is in this case. This is an ongoing investigation, so we wouldn't give him a designation of this is the wrong guy or this is the right guy," said Redfearn.

Police say there is a new suspect in custody in California for the Knight's murder, Marcos Gaeta, who is the ex-boyfriend of Molina's mother.

No one answered the door at Molina's home in Avondale. Police say this remains an open case and will have Gaeta extradited to Arizona.

In court paperwork, Molina told detectives he knew nothing of the murder and "could never do that."