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| Martin Martinez / Dr. Amanda Crews |
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| Central Valley TV |
Martinez was watching the child for his girlfriend when the injury occurred and he gave law enforcement several stories of how the child was injured. It was ultimately determined to be a homicide and child abuse and Martinez was days away from being arrested in that case when the July 2015 mass murders occurred. Nobody knows if Martinez was aware an arrest was imminent, however the Modesto Police Department claims very few people were aware of this information.
When Christopher Ripley died in 2014, Amanda was initially supportive of Martin Martinez and was supporting his innocence. She even went as far as to hire a defense attorney for him. However she was a physician - at some point her opinion may have began to waiver and doubts about her boyfriend may have started to surface. Amanda had a 4 year old daughter living with her as well, and for the child's welfare and safety Martinez was ordered to vacate the home he was sharing with Amanda and her children by CPS and a protective order was granted.
The million dollar question remains: what caused him to go over the edge and kill 5 innocent people? Did some sort of fight ensue between the two? I don't know much about when the crime occurred but the bodies were discovered after a police welfare check was conducted on Saturday, July 18, 2015. The welfare check was conducted after Amanda and her daughter failed to show up to a planned outing on Saturday. Police were met with a heartbreaking scene. It has to be haunting to discover a 6 month old baby deceased as well as 4 and 6 year old girls - and two female adults.
The Modesto Police Department has been tight lipped about this case. I don't know if the family was killed on Friday or Saturday. The only details I've located in court documents is that a knife was used on the two adult females - one of which was Martinez's own mother. Who would have thought a visit with your 6 month old granddaughter would put you at risk of becoming a homicide victim? There has been talk of domestic violence between Martin & Amanda although nothing was reported to law enforcement. Amanda's twin sister Kimberley will likely be a key prosecution witness when the trial starts as she witnessed one incident in which Martin became violent with her sister.
The July 2015 case is likely to be tried first - the State is seeking the death penalty in that case. The State may combine the two cases but nothing has yet been decided on the matter. No date has been set for Christopher's murder trial. As with death penalty cases, this is likely to be dragged out in court for a long time through delays, continuances, conflicts with expert witness schedules etc. When you are asking for the ultimate punishment the case must be appeal proof. The last thing you want is a mistrial as this trial is likely to last a long while and cost taxpayers a fortune. Then there are the automatic appeals if he gets the death penalty. It's unreal how long people in California actually sit on death row before ever being executed. In fact, many are more likely to die of natural causes before their death warrant is ever served.
This case is such a mystery. The Modesto PD has done a great job keeping crime scene details out of the media. I can't imagine this is going to be anything less than torture for Amanda's family to sit through. With this many alleged murders committed by one person, I don't see much likelihood of the DA pursuing a plea agreement - life without parole in exchange for guilty plea and waiving all appeals. I don't believe that's a deal anyone would want to make but you never know. The family usually has input and I don't know how they would feel about a plea. I get the feeling Amanda's twin sister wants justice, and Amanda's ex husband deserves justice as well for Martinez taking away his two precious children.
There is NO punishment that fits this crime. It's just unthinkable - he even (allegedly) killed his own mother. That takes a special kind of monster who should never walk among us ever again!
When Christopher Ripley died in 2014, Amanda was initially supportive of Martin Martinez and was supporting his innocence. She even went as far as to hire a defense attorney for him. However she was a physician - at some point her opinion may have began to waiver and doubts about her boyfriend may have started to surface. Amanda had a 4 year old daughter living with her as well, and for the child's welfare and safety Martinez was ordered to vacate the home he was sharing with Amanda and her children by CPS and a protective order was granted.
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| Elizabeth & Christopher Ripley |
The Modesto Police Department has been tight lipped about this case. I don't know if the family was killed on Friday or Saturday. The only details I've located in court documents is that a knife was used on the two adult females - one of which was Martinez's own mother. Who would have thought a visit with your 6 month old granddaughter would put you at risk of becoming a homicide victim? There has been talk of domestic violence between Martin & Amanda although nothing was reported to law enforcement. Amanda's twin sister Kimberley will likely be a key prosecution witness when the trial starts as she witnessed one incident in which Martin became violent with her sister.
The July 2015 case is likely to be tried first - the State is seeking the death penalty in that case. The State may combine the two cases but nothing has yet been decided on the matter. No date has been set for Christopher's murder trial. As with death penalty cases, this is likely to be dragged out in court for a long time through delays, continuances, conflicts with expert witness schedules etc. When you are asking for the ultimate punishment the case must be appeal proof. The last thing you want is a mistrial as this trial is likely to last a long while and cost taxpayers a fortune. Then there are the automatic appeals if he gets the death penalty. It's unreal how long people in California actually sit on death row before ever being executed. In fact, many are more likely to die of natural causes before their death warrant is ever served.
This case is such a mystery. The Modesto PD has done a great job keeping crime scene details out of the media. I can't imagine this is going to be anything less than torture for Amanda's family to sit through. With this many alleged murders committed by one person, I don't see much likelihood of the DA pursuing a plea agreement - life without parole in exchange for guilty plea and waiving all appeals. I don't believe that's a deal anyone would want to make but you never know. The family usually has input and I don't know how they would feel about a plea. I get the feeling Amanda's twin sister wants justice, and Amanda's ex husband deserves justice as well for Martinez taking away his two precious children.
There is NO punishment that fits this crime. It's just unthinkable - he even (allegedly) killed his own mother. That takes a special kind of monster who should never walk among us ever again!
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