Investigators are reportedly examining 220 pieces of DNA evidence connected to the brutal rape and murder of 10-year-old Victoria Martens in August 2016.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Victoria’s own mother Michelle Martens is among those awaiting trial for the little girl’s murder. Michelle is accused of watching her boyfriend Fabio Gonzalez and his cousin Jessica Kelley rape, strangle, and dismember her daughter in her Albuquerque, New Mexico, apartment. She reportedly had sex with Gonzalez and made the three of them dinner after her daughter was killed.
Victoria’s murder is considered to be among the most heinous crimes in the state’s history, and authorities have not yet identified any motive beyond the depravity of the suspects, who are believed to have been methamphetamine users. Michelle Martens reportedly told law enforcement officials that she derived sexual pleasure from watching her daughter’s assault.
According to KOAT Action News, state prosecutor are asking for additional time to sort through 220 DNA samples taken from the scene in order to help identify the role each suspect may have played the horrific rape and murder.
The news station obtained the state’s court filing, which says that investigators have sent the DNA to a lab in Florida which is using a cutting-edge analysis technology called “STRmix,” which is reportedly useful in examining cases involving multiple people.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, investigators have also obtained DNA from a local drug dealer who is believed to have been in contact with Kelley and/or Gonzalez near the time of Victoria’s murder. When Kelley was taken into custody, she reportedly indicated to police that someone else may have been in the apartment that night.
The three suspects will be tried separately beginning with Martens, whose trial scheduled for July 2018. The additional time requested for analysis is not expected to impact the trial start date.
[Feature image: Facebook/Victoria Martens]
