1960-August 19, 2016
Lake Worth, FL
Martha was 56yo when her 37 yo husband of 5 years brutally attacked on August 20th, 2016, while her two children were home, leaving them to witness parts of the murder. I came across her case on YouTube while listening to 911 calls and came across the calls her daughters made the night of her attack. I will include those at the end.
Although there is not much information about Martha and their husband's relationship to identify each of the 8 stages of domestic violence, I wanted to share her story.
As a refresher, I will put the 8 stages on the screen.
A pre-relationship history of stalking or abuse by the perpetrator
The romance develops quickly into a serious relationship.
The relationship becomes dominated by coercive control.
A trigger threatens the perpetrator's control - for example, the relationship ends, or the perpetrator becomes financially tricky.
Escalation - an increase in the intensity or frequency of the partner's control tactics, such as stalking or threatening suicide
The perpetrator has a change in thinking - choosing to move on through revenge or homicide.
Planning - the perpetrator might buy weapons or seek opportunities to get the victim alone
Homicide - the perpetrator kills their partner and possibly hurts others, such as the victim's children
And as with all my videos, I won't be naming this pos who killed her; I usually don't add pictures either, but I was rethinking that the other. What would you think? Pictures of the perpetrators in these cases, or is it just a waste of time? It should also be noted that I will not discuss his defense or anything about him except what's relevant to the eight steps of domestic violence homicides and pertains to the story's structure. I figure only God can judge him at this point and/but on my end; I want his story along with him to dissolve in the dark depths of the prison system.
Martha was a free spirit. She left Colombia in the 1980s to travel before settling in Florida. There she found a job at a Palm Beach Resort, where she worked for over 23 years and had two daughters. Martha had love interests, but she tried to make it work even when the relationship wasn't a good fit. Despite this, her girls were her top priority, and she was driven to provide them with a good life. She hoped they would go to university and worked hard to save money for their futures. They were aged 12 and 16 at the time of their Mother's passing.
Her cousin said Martha was in love with being in love, even if it wasn't right. To help with bills, Martha rented out part of her home around 2006. People who know Martha said he was quiet, and they never saw him be aggressive or violent. The two became friends and developed a romantic relationship that led to marriage in 2011. I don't know if their relationship met the requirements of stage 1 in that there was a history of DV or stalking. I'm also unclear how fast the relationship developed, but it was five years from when he moved in, and they got married.
Im not sure when but at some point, the pair got into an argument while driving, and he abandoned her and the girls on the side of the highway. Although we, once again, don't have enough information to determine more details about the dynamics of their relationship, this very well could be a sign of coercive control or domestic abuse.
By 2016 things had soured. The girls began to feel uneasy around him because he allegedly, and I have to say that because he was never officially charged for anything, started to become overly affectionate and would lie in bed with one of them. One evening one of the daughters expressed her concerns about their stepfather and begged her mom to leave him. Martha, who always put her daughters first, was quick to agree/concede/do so, and on Friday, August 9th, 2016, the day before her 12-year-old's birthday, things took a dangerous turn.
As the girls lay asleep in their beds, he walked in the front door; they didn't hear him. Therefore, we only have his and the forensic analysis to account for the unfolding events.
He put down his wallet, phone, and gun and reached down to untie his boots. As he did so, Martha grabbed the gun and started yelling at him. They wrestled for the weapon, and it went off; no one was hit. Next, she got a knife and came after him.
However, prosecutors say they believe the evidence shows that Martha had called him earlier in the day, confronted him, and told him not to return, but he did anyways. He came back to kill her and did so with a knife and sledgehammer.
We can see that they have entered stage 4 when the perpetrator is triggered by something. The following events entail stages 6-8 simultaneously, or at the least rapidly.
Her youngest daughter woke up to her Mother screaming, "My daughters, my daughters" in Spanish. She ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, rushed to wake her older sister then bravely followed her Mother's cries to her bedroom, where she flung open the door. To her horror, she saw her stepdad holding a sledgehammer and knife, towering over her Mother, who was covered in blood. When she interrupted, he swung the sledgehammer at her and tried attacking her as she ran from the house to neighbors, where she could call 911.
While he was leaving the house, the eldest daughter dialed 911, locked all the doors, and ran to her mom. Martha tried her best to sit on her bed, but she had been mortally wounded. Her daughter heard a window break, panicked, and ran outside. She hid under a trailer while on the phone with emergency services. Next, she heard him come out, start the car, and drive away. She stayed under the trailer until first responders arrived.
They found Martha in the bedroom; she had passed away from significant trauma to her head. The family was, and probably a part of them remains, shocked. Martha's cousin took the girls in. The family also started a GoFundMe account to help with expenses.
It took 2 days of deliberation before the jury found him guilty of 1st-degree murder and aggravated assault for attacking Martha's youngest daughter. This is truly a shocking and horrible murder. My deepest condolences go out to the friends and family of Martha.
Martha will be remembered for her loving motherly spirit, with kind and caring nature, who was honest and had a great sense of humor.
Thank you for listening to Martha's story. If you find it in your heart, please light a candle for Martha or for anyone who has lost their life at the hands of domestic violence, and if you or anyone you know is experiencing DV, please, please reach out to a family or friend, a local or national resource, someone to let them know what is going on. Quietly make a safety plan; I'll link one in the comments or description and get the heck to safety. You do not deserve that kind of life. I promise there are good people in the world who are waiting for you to reach out so they can help you.
GoFundMe:
Comments