The Victoria Martens Case: She was pimped out by her mother and she watched while various men raped her

Victoria Martens was the daughter of Michelle Martens, and she was born on August 23, 2006, in Albuquerque.

Victoria was known for her kind heart, sweetness, and thoughtfulness.

Sadly, her story has become one of the most shocking cases of child abuse in New Mexico's history.

Her death, which could have been avoided, caused a lot of fear and anger in the community.

As more details emerged, the shocking nature of the crime left many people confused.

Victoria Martens

Background 

Michelle was a single mom who was working to take care of her kids. 

She was born in Bronx and moved to Texas and eventually, New Mexico. 

In 2016, Michelle got a job at Smith’s, a subsidiary of Kroger Grocery Stores in Alberqueque.

She was excited to start the new job, and her family said she had recently passed a drug test to qualify for it.

Michelle and her family said she loved her kids and worked hard to take care of them.

But what happened on August 24, 2016, raised serious questions about her "love" for her children.

In July 2016, Michelle met her boyfriend Fabian Gonzales on a dating site and they began dating.

By August 2016, Fabian Gonzales had moved in with Michelle and her children. 

Michelle Martens

Fabian was a well-known repeat offender in New Mexico.

Fabian Gonzales had been charged with assaulting a woman twice and had received probation for both cases. 

He also has a long criminal record with various other crimes.

In a 2012 hearing, before Fabian met Michelle, a probation officer warned that Fabian was a threat to others and that he would most likely offend again.

Fabian has a cousin named Jessica Kelly. 

Jessica was in jail when Fabian moved in with Michelle. 

When she was released on August 15, 2016, Fabian picked her up and took her to Michelle’s apartment.

Like her cousin, Jessica has a long history of criminal charges, but she wasn’t registered as a sex offender in New Mexico.

That was how these offenders, Fabian and Jessica started living with Michelle and her children.

Soon, Fabian began bringing drug users to Michelle’s apartment with her kids around.

Many other strange things happened, and over time, things continued to get worse.

Fabian Gonzales

Victoria's Assault and  Murder

On August 23, 2016, was Victoria's birthday.

Sadly that was the same day she was raped and brutally murdered.

Earlier that day, Michelle told Jessica to help her pick up Victoria from the bus stop. 

However, when Michelle texted Jessica to confirm if she had picked up Victoria, Jessica did not reply.

Jessica didn’t pick up Victoria, and instead, Victoria went to a neighbor’s apartment.

The neighbor texted Michelle to let her know that Victoria was in their apartment and trying to reach her.

Michelle and Fabian returned home a little after 5 and left almost immediately to look for drugs.

They left Victoria alone at home with Jessica for several hours that evening.

Later on that night, neighbors at  Michelle’s Apartment complex heard a loud disturbance at one of the units. 

They claimed they heard screams coming from Martens’s apartment. 

When Michelle and Fabian went back into the apartment, Jessica pulled Fabian aside and secretly told him that Victoria was murdered. 

Fabian and Jessica then dismembered Victoria’s body and removed several organs. 

They carried Victoria’s body into the restroom and placed her in the bathtub. 

Jessica Kelly then went back into Victoria’s room and proceeded to attempt to clean up the blood.

The Office of the Medical Examiner later determined the cause of death to be manual strangulation. 

The compression of Victoria’s neck restricted blood flow to her brain, leading to her loss of consciousness and death.

The Medical Examiner found DNA from an unknown male on Victoria’s body. 

There were no intoxicating substances, including meth or alcohol, found in Victoria’s system.

Jessica Kelly

Distribing Evidence 

Initially when Michelle Martens was interviewed she said she met several men  online and allowed them to rape Victoria in her house.

She claimed that she did it because she enjoyed watching it. 

Michelle Martens also said that the trio had injected methamphetamine into Victoria to “get her to calm down”. 

She said that she believes it was the drugs that killed Victoria. 

She claimed that she watched as Jessica held Victoria down while Fabian raped her. 

She said that Jessica then stabbed Victoria, dismembered her body, before setting it on fire. 

Police confiscated a camcorder, iPod, as well as several mini discs from Martens’ apartment. 

Jessica and Fabian were charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor.

Michelle changed her story several times during interrogation. 

There was evidence of sexual abuse including the fact that Victoria had an STI according to her autopsy. 

During his interview,  Fabian said he raped Victoria after she was dead. 

Jessica Kelly refused to talk and immediately requested a lawyer. 

Justice Served 

After an extensive investigation, it became clear that some of the initial details of the case given by Michelle were lies.

The DA announced at a press briefing that despite Michelle and Fabians’ confessions, cell phone data showed that neither Michelle nor Fabian were present in the apartment when Victoria was murdered. 

As part of her plea deal, Jessica told police that there was an unknown man who entered the apartment and murdered Victoria.

Michelle was sentenced to 12–15 years in prison for the charge of reckless child abuse resulting in death as part of a plea deal. 

Jessica Kelley was sentenced to 50 years in prison for her involvement in the death of Victoria Martens 

Fabian Gonzales was sentenced to 37.5 years in prison for his role in the 2016 death and dismemberment of 10-year-old Victoria Martens. 

Police are still searching for a fourth suspect, a "John Doe", after a DNA profile matching a male was found on Victoria's body. 

That DNA profile is the only one charged with murder in the case.

Learn about Kathleen Peterson, who died after falling down a staircase in 2001. 

Her husband was convicted of her murder. 

Did he really do it? Click here to find out more.

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