Coralville woke up in shock after police found 41-year-old Amber Nicole Martin dead from stab wounds early Friday morning. Officers were called to a home on the 2800 block of Spring Rose Circle just after 6:30 a.m. on January 16. When they arrived, they discovered Amber suffering serious injuries. First responders tried everything they could, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators quickly identified her husband, 47-year-old James Fuller Martin of Coralville, as the suspect. Police arrested him later that same day and charged him with first-degree murder. Court documents indicate he admitted to carrying out the attack with a kitchen knife and planned it hours before.
Amber was not just anyone in the community. She worked as a Medical Laboratory Scientist Supervisor of Microbiology at University of Iowa Health Care. Before moving to Iowa in August 2025, she was the Lead Medical Laboratory Scientist in Microbiology at Quincy Medical Group in Illinois. Many who knew her remember her as passionate about her work and deeply caring toward colleagues.
People who worked with Amber and Jim in Quincy were stunned by the news. A former coworker, Ann Ostermiller, said she trained Amber when she started at Quincy Medical Group. She described Amber as vibrant and kind, someone loved by everyone in the lab. Jim was described as quiet and reserved. To them, the couple always seemed close and affectionate.
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Friends and former colleagues are still trying to grasp how things could go so tragically wrong. “They seemed so close and loving,” one former colleague told local reporters. The suddenness of the violence has left a lot of unanswered questions, and so far, authorities have released no motive.
At the latest update, James Fuller Martin is being held at Johnson County Jail in Iowa as the case moves through the legal system. The investigation remains active, and prosecutors are preparing for the next steps in court.
Neighbors and friends have started leaving flowers and notes near the street where she died, remembering Amber as a devoted professional and a friend to many. Her family and community now face the difficult task of mourning while seeking justice in a tragedy that has rippled far beyond Coralville.
