The Arizona father convicted last month of starving his 6-year-old son to death was sentenced on Friday to life in prison.
Anthony Martinez, 28, was found guilty of first degree murder in Deshaun Martinez’s death and two counts each of child abuse and kidnapping against the boy and his 7-year-old sibling, along with two more convictions for aggravated assault, the Arizona Daily Sun reported. The 17 years each for the kidnapping and child abuse convictions will be served consecutively, while the lesser aggravated assault sentences will be served concurrently.
Deshaun Martinez died of starvation in March 2020, weighing just 18 pounds when he died, as CrimeOnline reported. Police were called to the family’s home in Flagstaff by theboy’s grandmother. Firefighters were unable to revive the boy, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The medical examiner’s report said the boy’s skin was stretched over his bones and he had almost no body fat, giving him a skeletal appearance. His eyes, surrounded by dark circles, were sunken, and his hair was brittle, the report said.
The child’s parents allegedly admitted they kept him and the 7-year-old brother inside a closet in a bedroom and sometimes withheld food. The parents said they put the children in the closet to punish them for sneaking in the kitchen and stealing food at night. Two other children — girls who were 2 and 4 at the time — were healthy and their weight was appropriate for their size and age and they didn’t have any food restrictions.
Martinez and the children’s mother, Elizabeht Archibeque, lived with his mother, Ann Marie Martinez. All three were arrested. Archibeque pleaded guilty to murder and child abuse charges a year ago and was sentenced to life without parole. The grandmother is set to go on trial in August.
Martinez’s sentencing hearing began on Friday with testimony from the mother who adopted the 7-year-old and the two younger girls, the Daily Sun said.
“I was so nervous, but the moment we locked eyes I saw his face smile and his sweet spirit, and I knew we were both going to be OK,” she said as she detailed the older boy’s arrival to a new home just days after he began eating solid food again.
She said he needed help adjusting to being in a healthy environment and said his lunch box is a “prized possession.”
The two girls, she said, are slowly recovering from the harm they experience witnessing the abuse heaped on their brothers.
“So much has been taken from these children, yet pieces of who they are can never be broken,” she said. “As their adoptive mother, I recognize the beauty of their natural gifts. I am here to tell you how special and unique these children are.”
Martinez did not speak during the hearing, but his attorney, Taylor Fox, read from a statement submitted to the court in which he apologized “to my children for all the things I put you through.”
While Martinez declined to speak during the hearing, his defense attorney, Taylor Fox, read a portion of a statement submitted to the court following the victim impact statement.
“I am not going to ask you to forgive me for my actions, I just hope one day I will be able to make things right in whatever way possible,” the statement said.
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[Featured image: A memorial for a 6-year-old boy in Flagstaff, Arizona, grows on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, as residents add stuffed animals, balloons, candles and messages for the child. Police have arrested the boy’s parents and grandmother on suspicion of murder and child abuse in the boy’s death. (AP Photo/Felicia Fonseca)]
