A PLEA DEAL FOR HER
MOTHER -- CHARGES
LOWERED FOR THE
BOYFRIEND
-- AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT
THAT A KILLER MAY BE ON
THE LOOSE.
NEWS 13 )S MARISSA LUCERO
STARTS OUR TEAM COVERAGE
-- SHE )S LIVE AT
DISTRICT COURT --
MARISSA.
JESS,
IN A SURPRISE HEARING
TODAY -- MICHELLE
MARTENS PLED GUILTY TO
ONE
CHARGE -- AND IT WASN )T
MURDER.
BOTH THE D-A AND HER
DEFENSE ATTORNEY SAYING
HER CONFESSION
WAS ALL MADE UP.
01:05:15Mitchell"She )s
been that way all her
life, it )s just her
nature."01:05:18 FOR
NEARLY TWO YEARS ... THE
MOTHER OF
10-YEAR-OLD VICTORIA
MARTENS
REMAINED AT THE CENTER
OF ONE OF ALBUQUERQUE )S
MOST SHOCKING
CRIMES
... ACCUSED OF ALLOWING
THE RAPE AND MURDER OF
HER OWN DAUGHTER.
01:09:00"...when you
don )t check on them and
when you let people
around them you
shouldn )t have, horrible
things can result and
they did."1:09:07
TODAY BOTH PROSECUTORS
AND MARTENS ) ATTORNEY
AGREED HER ONLY CRIME
WAS ALLOWING HER
BOYFRIEND )S COUSIN --
JESSICA KELLEY -- A
CONVICTED RAPIST AND
DRUG DEALER -- TO WATCH
OVER VICTORIA.
01:13:58State
Prosecutor"She was
negligent in the care
and protection of her
daughter,
and is therefore
culpable in the death of
her child."01:14:03
AS MICHELLE MARTENS )
PARENTS WATCHED IN COURT
01:15:22Michelle"Guilty,
your honor 01:15:23 ( ( (
wipes face with tissues
SHE PLED GUILTY TO ONE
COUNT OF RECKLESS CHILD
ABUSE RESULTING IN
DEATH.
PROSECUTORS LAID OUT
EVIDENCE SAYING BACK IN
AUGUST 20-16 ... MARTENS
KNEW KELLEY HAD JUST
GOTTEN OUT OF PRISON AND
HAD A VIOLENT PAST.
01:11:51State
Prosecutor"She was
warned that she should
remove Kelley from her
home due to her unstable
behavior."1:11:54
SHE DIDN )T ... INSTEAD
THE STATE SAYS MARTENS
CONTINUED TO LET KELLEY
STAY AT HER
APARTMENT... AND EVEN
ASKED KELLEY TO PICK UP
VICTORIA FROM THE BUS
STOP AFTER SCHOOL ON
AUGUST 23RD, 20-16.
PROSECUTORS SAY MARTENS
GOT HOME HOURS LATER AND
SAW
KELLEY WAS HIGH ON
METH... BUT AGAIN LEFT
HER DAUGHTER
WITH KELLEY SO SHE AND
HER BOYFRIEND FABIAN
GONZALES COULD
GO GET MARIJUANA.
IT WAS DURING THAT
WINDOW ... PROSECUTORS
SAY KELLEY AND AT LEAST
ONE OTHER UNKNOWN PERSON
RAPED AND STRANGLED
VICTORIA.
01:13:22State
Prosecutor"at 8:48 pm
Martens observed Kelley
carrying Victoria down
the apartment stairs
unresponsive and wrapped
in a blanket 01:13:28
YET ... THE STATE SAYS
THE MOTHER STILL FAILED
TO CHECK ON HER
DAUGHTER -- WHO WAS
DISMEMBERED LATER THAT
NIGHT. THE IDEA TWO
YEARS AGO THAT MARTENS
WATCHED IT ALL HAPPEN...
CAME FROM HER INTERVIEW
WITH POLICE -- WHICH
BOTH SIDES NOW SAY JUST
WASN )T TRUE.
01:04:35Micthell/Attorne
y"She has spent her life
saying things to please
people so if you ask her
something, she )s going
to respond in the way
she thinks that you
like. It )s always a
difficult task when we
deal with
people of her IQ
level."01:04:50
TODAY ... DISTRICT
ATTORNEY RAUL TORREZ ...
DEFENDED THE PLEA
DEAL ... SAYING IT WAS
THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
14:36:35Raul Torrez"I
recognize that these
revelations are not
consistent with the
public )s
perception about what
happened with Victoria
but I want to share this
information with you in
order to help the
community
understand."14:36:48
WE ASKED THE D-A IF
INVESTIGATORS STILL
BELIEVE MICHELLE MARTENS
KNEW ABOUT THE MURDER
AND THE ATTEMPT TO CLEAN
UP THE CRIME
SCENE.
HE WOULD NOT SAY.
BACK TO YOU.
OKAY MARISSA.
MARTENS WILL BE
SENTENCED AFTER THE
UPCOMING TRIALS FOR
GONZALES AND KELLEY ...
IN WHICH SHE )S EXPECTED
TO TESTIFY.
MARTENS FACES ANYWHERE
FROM 12-15 YEARS BEHIND
BARS.
THAT PLEA DEAL WAS
FOLLOWED BY A NEWS
CONFERENCE... WITH
DISTRICT ATTORNEY RAUL
TORREZ EXPLAINING THE
DECISION AND
REVEALING THERE )S
(ANOTHER SUSPECT OUT
THERE. HERE )S NEWS 13 )S
JACKIE KENT.
JESSICA... THIS
HIGH-PROFILE CASE HAS
TAKEN A MAJOR TURN..
THE D-A ANNOUNCING
POLICE ARE NOW LOOKING
FOR SOMEONE ELSE
FOR THE RAPE AND MURDER
OF VICTORIA MARTENS.
BERNALILLO COUNTY
DISTRICT ATTORNEY RAUL
TORREZ WITH
STUNNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
ON THE CASE THAT SHOOK
ALBUQUERQUE TO ITS CORE
--
torrez: Much of what has
been reported about this
case has been simply not
true.
REVEALING THERE )S JUST
NO EVIDENCE MICHELLE
MARTENS AND HER
BOYFRIEND
FABIAN GONZALES WERE IN
ON THE MURDER OF
VICTORIA MARTENS TWO
SUMMERS AGO.
Raul Torrez, Bernalillo
County District
Attorney: Cell phone and
detailed Google location
data
corroborated those
eyewitness accounts and
placed Michelle and
Fabian outside the
apartment at the
time of the rape and
murder.
THE D-A SAYS A TEAM OF
PROSECUTORS... A-P-D
DETECTIVES AND
NEW EXPERTS REVIEWED THE
CASE AND FOUND AN
( (UNIDENTIFIED MAN )S ( (
DNA WAS FOUND ON
VICTORIA )S BODY.
DA Raul Torrez: "I have
today authorized the
filing of the criminal
information against the
unidentified
male .
A (NEW SUSPECTED CHILD
KILLER THE D-A SAYS IS
STILL AT LARGE --
SOMETHING
FORMER A-P-D CHIEF
GORDON EDEN BACK IN 2016
SAID WAS NOT POSSIBLE.
To the people that live
in that neighborhood,
let me assure you, your
neighborhood is safe.
there
are no other suspects in
this case 13:16
THIS )JOHN DOE ) NOW
FACING (FOURTEEN
CHARGES...
INCLUDING RAPE AND FIRST
DEGREE MURDER.
Raul Torrez, Bernalillo
County District
Attorney: We don )t
believe this to be a
random act and so we
think
that this is someone who
is connected to the
three in some way.
THE D-A SAYS BECAUSE
THEY ONLY FOUND A
PARTIAL DNA SAMPLE ON
VICTORIA )S BODY --
THEY )LL NEED ANOTHER
PHYSICAL SAMPLE FROM THE
JOHN DOE TO PROVE A
MATCH.
WHO COULD THAT JOHN DOE
BE?
NONE OF THE THREE
SUSPECTS HAS EVER
MENTIONED A SECOND MAN
IN THE
APARTMENT.
JESSICA... BACK TO YOU.
THE D-A DROPPED THE
MURDER AND RAPE CHARGES
AGIANST FABIAN
GONZALES... WHO )S BLAMED
JESSICA KELLEY FROM THE
VERY START.
31:46 I tried my best to
protect Michelle and the
baby
What happened then? Why
is there a girl that )s
dead? That )s because
Jessica Kelley did it
31:56 .
GONZALES STILL FACES UP
TO 18 YEARS BEHIND BARS
FOR ...RECKLESS
CHILD ABUSE RESULTING IN
DEATH AND TAMPERING WITH
EVIDENCE.
INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE HE
CLEANED UP THE MURDER
SCENE -- AND
HELPED DISMEMBER
VICTORIA )S BODY TO
DISPOSE OF IT.
HE )LL GO TO TRIAL IN
OCTOBER.
JESSICA KELLEY STILL
FACES RAPE AND MURDER
CHARGES AND WILL
BE TRIED IN JANUARY.
HOW DID POLICE MISS
THERE WAS ANOTHER
KILLER?
APD ONLY SENT OUT A
STATEMENT TODAY IN
PART...
SAYING IT DEVOTED SOME
OF ITS MOST EXPERIENCED
DETECTIVES TO THE
INVESTIGATION AND
THEY )VE BEEN
INSTRUMENTAL THIS YEAR
IN UNRAVELING THE
MISLEADING
STATEMENTS MARTENS MADE.
THIS ISN )T THE FIRST
TIME... THERE )S BEEN
QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW
POLICE HANDLED THE CASE.
.54 John Martens: APD
dropped the ball. We
feel if they would have
investigated...maybe
Victoria would still be
here with us. Pat
Martens: She definitely
would have been here
with us.
VICTORIA MARTENS )
GRANDPARENTS ARE SUING
THE CITY.
THE LAWSUIT STATES FIVE
MONTHS BEFORE VICTORIA
MARTEN )S
DEATH ....
CYFD TURNED A TIP OVER
TO APD...
THAT HER MOTHER )S
BOYFRIENDS HAD TRIED TO
KISS THE 10-YEAR-OLD.
THE MARTENS ) ATTORNEY
SAYS HAD APD BOTHERED
INVESTIGATING....
THEY WOULD HAVE LEARNED
THAT BOYFRIEND WAS DAVID
HERNANDEZ.
POLICE SAY HE SNATCHED A
RANDOM YOUNG GIRL FROM A
PARKING LOT.
THE MARTENS BELIEVE IT
WOULD HAVE LED TO CYFD
TAKING CUSTODY OF
VICTORIA BEFORE THE
MURDER.
C-Y-F-D CASEWORKERS HAD
RECEIVED AT LEAST FIVE
CALLS ABOUT
VICTORIA AND HER
BROTHER, AND WAS LEFT
WONDERING WHAT MORE THEY
COULD HAVE DONE.
THE STATE PROMISED IT
WOULD MAKE CHANGES.
LAST AUGUST, A YEAR
AFTER VICTORIA )S DEATH,
WE ASKED THE
DEPARTMENT WHAT CHANGES
IT HAD MADE.
C-Y-F-D SAYS IT STARTED
A PROGRAM IDENTIFYING
AT-RISK
KIDS, IN AN EFFORT TO
STOP ABUSE BEFORE IT
STARTS. BUT THE C-Y-F-D
SECRETARY ADMITTED IN
MAY...HER
INVESTIGATORS... FAILED
TO FOLLOW UP IN ANOTHER
HIGH PROFILE ABUSE
CASE.