STARKVILLE — During Wednesday’s abbreviated session of the Lydia Martinez murder trial, the prosecution focused heavily on the events of July 22, 2015, when authorities found what was described as a suicide note/confession in the defendant’s bedroom, and when Martinez allegedly admitted her guilt to a paramedic as she was being taken to the hospital.
The prosecution also introduced forensic evidence found at the home Martinez shared with her family — the victim Manuel Vasquez, daughter Christina Martinez and her three grandchildren.
Martinez, 61, is accused of first-degree murder in the killing of her son-in-law, Manuel Vasquez, in the early-morning hours of June 24, 2015. Christina Martinez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case in 2019 and is awaiting sentencing.
Wednesday’s testimony began with defense attorney Arthur Calderon’s cross-examination of Lt. Tony Cooper of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, who testified Tuesday about arriving at the Vasquez home on July 22 with a subpoena to search the home and take Christina Martinez to the sheriff’s office for further questioning.
Cooper said Christina answered the door and went upstairs to the defendant’s bedroom to tell her she needed her mother to watch the children while she was at the sheriff’s office.
Cooper said Christina was gone less than a minute.
“When she came back, she was saying, ‘Help. My mom’s hurt,'” he said.
Cooper said he and two other deputies arrived in the defendant’s bedroom, where they found Martinez lying on the bed with blood on her face and arms. Cooper said he noticed a jar with a small amount of liquid on the nightstand. Another detective discovered a letter, which Cooper said he read, describing it as a suicide note/confession letter.
“The letter you found implicated another suspect, that being Paul Vega, right?” Calderon asked, naming a friend of Vasquez.
“Correct,” Cooper said.
Cooper said after leaving the Vasquez home, he went to Vega’s home with a search warrant and an arrest warrant and took Vega into custody.
Calderon then confirmed through Cooper that Vega was released the next day without ever being charged.
“The information that implicated (Vega) was insufficient,” Cooper said. “There was not enough evidence to hold Mr. Vega, and he was released. The information that was obtained was recanted.”
Calderon seized on that.
“So the only thing you have to go on are statements that you later learned to be inaccurate. Is that right?” Calderon said.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Cooper responded.
Following Cooper’s testimony, the prosecution called on Greg Nester, a crime scene specialist with Mississippi Bureau of Investigations, who detailed the forensic evidence found at the scene, which included potential blood evidence found downstairs in the master bedroom, bathroom, laundry room and garage, two bullet fragments found in the master bedroom and human remains found by a cadaver dog outside the residence.
During cross-examination, Nester acknowledged that no forensic evidence was found upstairs where Martinez’s bedroom is located.
The day’s last witness was paramedic Amy Richardson, who treated Martinez at the home and during the drive to the hospital.
Richardson said Martinez was conscious but not communicative at the home, but revived on the way to the hospital, asking where she was.
At that point, Richardson did an assessment on her mental state, asking standard questions used on all patients which she described as “person, place, time and event.”
Richardson said Martinez answered the questions correctly.
“At that point, I asked her what happened,” Richardson said. “She said, ‘I want to die.’ So I asked her why. She told me it was because she killed her son-in-law and burned his body.”
Richardson said one of the techniques used to assess whether a patient is in a stable mental state is to repeat the question.
“So you killed your son-in-law and burned his body?” Richardson asked. ” … She said, ‘I shot him first, then I burned him.'”
During cross-examination, Calderon asked Richardson if Martinez had said Paul Vega helped her kill Vasquez.
Richardson said yes.
Calderon then questioned whether Martinez’s mental state was stable, asking Richardson about pills Martinez had taken before she arrived.
“She did tell me that she had taken some pills, but she didn’t say what kind,” Richardson said.
Judge Lee Coleman suspended testimony at noon because of threats of severe weather.
Testimony continues today.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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