The trial of a woman accused of helping kill her son-in-law in New Hope nearly six years ago is slated to begin today in Oktibbeha County.
Lydia Martinez, 61, is one of two people arrested and eventually indicted for the 2015 murder of New Hope resident and San Antonio, Texas, businessman Manuel Vasquez. Lowndes County authorities discovered Vasquez’s remains at his Windchase Drive home in July 2015 and arrested both Martinez and her daughter and Vasquez’s wife, Christina Martinez, for murder.
Attorneys in the case spent Monday choosing a jury and are expected to begin opening arguments today.
Lydia Martinez’s role in the murder has been unclear since her initial arrest. Though she was arrested for murder, a grand jury initially charged her only with accessory after the fact — in stark contrast to charges leveled against Christina Martinez, who faced first-degree murder and felony domestic violence for allegedly forcing Lydia Martinez to drink antifreeze the day after authorities found Vasquez’s remains. Lydia claimed to both law enforcement and local media that Christina shot Vasquez before forcing Lydia to help dispose of his body by threatening to kill her and Vasquez’s three children.
Lydia Martinez was released from jail on bond and spent several years living with her sister in Colorado until November 2019, when another grand jury indicted her for “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously, with the deliberate design to effect his death, … kill(ing) and murder(ing) Manuel Vasquez ….”
At the time of Lydia Martinez’s second indictment, District Attorney Scott Colom said prosecutors gathered new evidence — even traveling at one point to San Antonio, where Vasquez and his wife owned an HVAC business together — that suggested Martinez was a more “active participant” in Vasquez’s murder than authorities believed in 2015.
Christina Martinez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2019, months before Lydia Martinez’s indictment was made public. She has not been sentenced.
If convicted of murder, Lydia Martinez could face up to life in prison.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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