The moment ‘Michelle Martens Sentenced To 12 Years in Jail For The Murder Of Her Daughter’ John and Pat Martens, the parents of Michelle Martens, did their best to get involved in the inquiry into the death of their granddaughter.
Horrific details of 10-year-old Victoria Marten’s murder and mutilation shocked the public and led to a long and complex Police investigation.
Michelle Martens, then 35, is the third person to be sentenced for this crime, with Jessica Kelley and Fabian Gonzales, both then 31, already sentenced earlier this year.
Find Out: Meriden Woman Karin Ziolkowski Convicted Of Murdering Her 8-Year-Old Son
Michelle Martens Sentenced To 12 Years in Jail For The Murder Of Her Daughter
Michelle Martens Parents: Who Are John And Pat Martens? Their Age Gap
John and Pat Martens are the parents of Michelle Martens and grandparents of Victoria Martens, the girl mercilessly slain in 2016.
Beyond shocked by the murder, the loving grandparents filed a lawsuit against Albuquerque city in September 2017.
The suit alleged that, unbeknownst to them, their daughter, Michelle, was meeting men on internet dating websites to prostitute Victoria for payment and her gratification.
It also pointed to an incident five months before Victoria’s death when CYFD informed the Police Department that one of Michelle’s then-boyfriend had tried to kiss Victoria. John and Pat sued the city for not investigating the attempted kiss.
However, the judge dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds, saying the two did not give prior notice of their intent to sue as mandated by law.
Details about John and Pat Martens’s age gap is unavailable online.
Michelle Martens Family And Ethnicity
According to Everipedia, Michelle Martens is white/ Caucasian by ethnicity. Likewise, she is American by nationality.
The mother of Victoria Martens hailed from the Bronx, New York, and lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Her former partner of seven years and Victoria’s biological Father is Kyle Martens. Victoria had a younger half-brother named Matthew Oetting. Luckily, Matthew stayed unharmed with his dad the night of the slaying.
Michelle was dating co-defendant Fabian Gonzales at the time of the murder. The two met on a dating app, PlentyOfFish, in July 2016, just weeks before the girl’s death in August 2016.
Michelle Martes Is Sentenced To 12 Years in Jail
On November 10, 2022, Judge Cindy Leos sentenced Michelle Martens for her role in the murder of her daughter, Victoria Martens.
She faced 12 to 15 years as part of a plea agreement. Prosecutors demanded 15 years but agreed on the lower limit recognizing her more minor role in the crime.
While Michelle is not accused of directly killing her daughter, she confessed to failing to protect her. She pleaded guilty in 2018 to reckless child abuse resulting in her death.
She appeared to show little emotion and chose not to speak at her sentencing hearing, which she attended remotely from jail via Zoom on Thursday, November 10.
It marks the last of three co-defendants behind bars in the girl’s death.
Fabian Gonzales, Michelle’s boyfriend, and Jessica Kelley, Fabian’s cousin, have been sentenced for their roles in Victoria’s death earlier this year. Jessica is serving a 44-year sentence, while Fabian was sentenced to 37.5 years in October 2022.
It appears to close the book on one of Albuquerque’s most horrific child abuse cases. However, owing to Jessica’s accounts and DNA evidence, prosecutors indicted “John Doe” in 2018 for first-degree murder, but his identity is still a mystery.
Jessica, who had moved in after her release from prison only four days before the murder, told Police that a “well-dressed” Hispanic man entered their apartment and killed Victoria since Fabian had threatened people at a cookout some days earlier.
Also Read: Amber Dawn Waterman Charged With Murdering Ashley Bush- Capital Murder
