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Thread: Anthony Archibeque-Martinez and Ann Martinez Charged/Elizabeth Archibeque-Martinez Sentenced to LWOP in 2020 AZ Murder of Son

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    Anthony Archibeque-Martinez and Ann Martinez Charged/Elizabeth Archibeque-Martinez Sentenced to LWOP in 2020 AZ Murder of Son





    Arizona parents, grandma charged with murder after 6-year-old kept in closet dies

    A mother, father and grandmother admitted that a 6-year-old and his 7-year-old brother were kept in a closet because they were "stealing food."

    By Elisha Fieldstadt
    NBC News

    A mother, father and grandmother were charged with murder and child abuse after admitting that a 6-year-old who died in their Arizona home was kept in a closet with his brother as punishment for "stealing food," police said Tuesday.

    Anthony Jose Archibeque-Martinez, 23, Elizabeth Archibeque-Martinez, 26, and Ann Marie Martinez, 50, are being held at the the Coconino County Jail on one count each of first-degree felony homicide and two counts each of child abuse, according to a statement from the Flagstaff Police Department.

    Officers responded to a call Monday about an unresponsive child at a Flagstaff home, the statement said. When they arrived, they tried to save the 6-year-old, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

    When interviewed, the mother, father and grandmother admitted that the 6-year-old and his 7-year-old brother were kept in a closet most of the time and were not let outside of the home, police said.

    The parents told police the abuse had been going on for about a month, and that the two boys were denied food and "kept in the closet because they were stealing food, by sneaking out at night when the parents slept."

    Both children were malnourished, and neither appeared to be his age.

    The 7-year-old was hospitalized at Flagstaff Medical Center, and is in the custody of the Department of Child Safety.

    Two other children found in the home — a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old — were also in the custody of the Department of Child Safety. Police said they were not malnourished, and the 4-year-old regularly attended school. All four children are the biological children of Jose and Elizabeth Archibeque-Martinez, according to investigators.

    The Department of Child Safety had not been to the home to investigate before, police said. Investigators are interviewing family members and neighbors to determine if anyone knew about the abuse and if so, for how long.

    The community is small, police said, and it would be unusual for something so extreme to be going on without someone knowing.

    Detectives also served a search warrant at the home as part of their ongoing investigation. Meanwhile, a medical examiner is working to determine the 6-year-old's cause of death.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-kept-n1149436
    Last edited by Steven; 08-04-2023 at 08:58 PM.

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    Parents, grandmother indicted in Arizona boy’s death

    By Felicia Fonseca
    AP

    PHOENIX (AP) — The parents and grandmother of a 6-year-old northern Arizona boy have been indicted on murder and other charges in the child’s death.

    Elizabeth Archibeque, 26, and Anthony Martinez, 23, and the child’s grandmother, 50-year-old Ann Marie Martinez, are scheduled to appear in Coconino County Superior Court on March 23 for arraignments.

    The three were arrested earlier this month in Flagstaff after Ann Marie Martinez called 911 and said she thought her grandson was dead. Police found the boy unresponsive. An officer noted he could have been dead for hours.

    The parents initially attributed the boy’s physical appearance — seemingly underweight for his age and with small bone structure — to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills. Eventually, they told police they kept the boy and his 7-year-old brother in a closet for 16 hours a day over the past month and gave them little to eat, police reports showed.

    Attorneys appointed to them did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. A public defender representing Archibeque previously said she would plead not guilty.

    Funeral services for the boy were held Friday in what mostly was a private event but with some emergency responders and police attending, the funeral home said.

    A grand jury on Thursday indicted Archibeque and Anthony and Ann Marie Martinez on charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and kidnapping, according to the court clerk’s office. Anthony Martinez also faces two counts of aggravated assault.

    Police said the boys’ confinement in a closet was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept. Ann Marie Martinez told police she was aware of the boys’ condition and disciplined them for taking food without permission.

    The day she was booked into the Coconino County jail, Ann Marie Martinez said she didn’t understand why because she didn’t do anything wrong and she’s not a violent person.

    “I’m a law-abiding citizen just trying to help grandkids not be in the streets,” she said in a jail video reviewed by The Associated Press.

    Anthony Martinez arrived at the Coconino County jail handcuffed behind his back, restrained at the ankles and sitting in a wheelchair because authorities say he resisted arrest at the police station. He yelled profanities at officers around him and at one point asked if he could be sent to prison. Most of what he said in the booking process wasn’t audible though because he didn’t speak loudly.

    The two initially were placed in adjacent cells alone so that detention officers could ensure they didn’t try to harm themselves.

    Elizabeth Archibeque, wearing jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt, hardly said anything when taken into jail and was placed into a larger cell that held other women.

    The three remain jailed each on a $3 million cash-only bond.

    Flagstaff police Sgt. Charles Hernandez said the condition of the 7-year-old boy, who also appeared malnourished, has improved. Arizona Department of Child Safety personnel took custody of the boy and two other siblings, ages 4 and 2.

    https://apnews.com/bd9b9a1d7f0ac54059dd04cff1e739e5

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    Autopsy report: 6-year-old Flagstaff boy died of starvation

    By The Telegraph

    FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A 6-year-old Flagstaff boy who authorities say was locked in a closet and deprived of food weighed just 18 pounds when he died — well below average for his age, according to an autopsy report.

    The boy's parents, Elizabeth Archibeque and Anthony Martinez, and his grandmother, Ann Martinez, have been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and child abuse charges in his death. They have pleaded not guilty.

    An autopsy report determined that Deshaun Martinez died of starvation and listed the manner of death as homicide. Prosecutors have until late July to decide whether they will seek capital punishment in the case.

    Police say they responded to the Flagstaff apartment where Deshaun lived with his family in early March and found him unresponsive. His parents initially attributed their son's malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills.

    Eventually, they told police they kept Deshaun and his older brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them little to eat.

    Police said the boys' confinement was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept.

    Deshaun's medical history showed he had trouble gaining weight, according to the autopsy report. He was hospitalized at two weeks old due to sepsis and a urinary tract infection that resulted in fevers and vomiting at every feed. Before being discharged after a 10-day stay, his parents were counseled on how to keep him at a healthy weight, the report said.

    Deshaun's weight climbed to 34 pounds at age 4 but dropped to 27 pounds a year later and 18 pounds when he died — the same weight he was at age 1. Medical examiner Lawrence Czarnecki said that put Deshaun in the third percentile for his age and said he was in a “non-life-sustaining state of starvation.”

    Elizabeth Archibeque told police Deshaun was “fed a lot” but gained little weight. Anthony Martinez said the family was on a budget and was awaiting food stamps to buy more fatty food for Deshaun.

    Czarnecki noted the boy had a skeletal appearance with skin stretched over his bones and almost no body fat. His skin was depressed into the cavities of his face. His eyes were sunken and surrounded by dark circles. His hair was brittle.

    The boy also had abrasions and bruises on his body that weren't life-threatening, according to the autopsy report.

    https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/ar...f-15325673.php
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    State won't seek capital punishment in Flagstaff boy's death

    Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against the parents and grandmother of a 6-year-old Flagstaff boy who was locked in a closet and died of starvation, the Coconino County Attorney's Office said.

    The boy's parents, Elizabeth Archibeque and Anthony Martinez, and his grandmother, Ann Martinez, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping and child abuse charges in his death.

    Their attorneys had been preparing to argue against the possibility of capital punishment. The deadline for them to submit information to the prosecution over the weekend became moot because the death penalty was taken off the table, Coconino County Attorney William Ring confirmed.

    Ring's office had until October to make the decision. He said that won't change.


    “We're grateful for this decision, and we believe it was the right call,” said Ryan Stevens, one of Ann Martinez's attorneys. “Now we're just shifting focus into regular defense and not focused on death penalty mitigation at this point.”

    Archibeque's attorney, Brad Bransky, declined comment. Anthony Martinez's attorney, Joseph Carver, did not respond to a request for comment.

    An autopsy determined that Deshaun Martinez, who weighed 18 pounds (8.1 kilograms) when police responded to the family's apartment in early March, died of starvation. The manner of death was listed as homicide.

    His parents initially attributed their son’s malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills. Eventually, they told police they kept Deshaun and his older brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them little to eat.

    Police said the boys’ confinement was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept.

    Ann Martinez has acknowledged spanking the boys with a red hanger and said she tried to give them food but Archibeque wouldn't allow it, according to court documents.

    Her attorneys are seeking to have her case sent back to the grand jury for reconsideration of the charges, arguing a prosecutor didn't provide clear instruction on child abuse as it relates to felony murder. The state hasn't responded yet to the motion.

    The boys, their two sisters and their parents started staying with Ann Martinez in late December after living elsewhere in Flagstaff, according to court documents. They previously lived in Iowa, south of Des Moines.

    https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/art...f-15455256.php
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    Trial date set for family of Arizona boy starved to death

    AP

    FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A trial date has been set for the parents and grandmother of a 6-year-old Flagstaff boy who died after being locked in a closet and denied food.

    Elizabeth Archibeque and Anthony Martinez, the boy’s parents, and Ann Martinez, his grandmother, have pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and child abuse.

    Anthony Martinez also is charged with two counts of aggravated assault.

    The defendants are scheduled to go on trial in August 2022. Coconino County Superior Court Judge Ted Reed set the date during a hearing in the case Friday.

    Michael Tunink will prosecute the case after Deputy County Attorney Stacy Krueger was appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey to fill a judicial vacancy at the court.

    A medical examiner determined Deshaun Martinez died last March of starvation, weighing just 18 pounds (8.1 kilograms) — well below average for his age.

    His parents initially attributed their son’s malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills. Eventually, they told police they kept Deshaun and his older brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them little to eat.

    Police said the boys’ confinement was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept.

    https://apnews.com/article/flagstaff...6eeffb533c1b7d

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    Mother pleads guilty after Arizona boy starves to death

    AP

    FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona mother has pleaded guilty to murder and child abuse charges stemming from the death of her 6-year-old son who had been locked in a closet and denied food.

    Elizabeth Archibeque reached a plea agreement with prosecutors this month, the Arizona Daily Sun reported Saturday.

    Archibeque will be sentenced later this summer. The terms of the plea agreement state that she will not be eligible for probation, and if sentenced to life in prison, she will not be eligible for any kind of parole or work release.

    She was charged along with the boy’s father, Anthony Martinez, and grandmother, Ann Martinez. The cases were being tried separately.

    An autopsy found the boy, Deshaun Martinez, died of starvation in March 2020. Authorities had said he weighed just 18 pounds (8.1 kilograms) — well below average for his age.

    The boy’s parents initially attributed their son’s malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills. Eventually, they told police they kept Deshaun and his older brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them little to eat. The brother survived.

    Police said the boys’ confinement was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept.

    https://apnews.com/article/arizona-c...77988a97882870

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    Arizona mother sentenced to life in prison without parole for murder in starvation of 6-year-old son

    By Felicia Fonseca and Scott Sonner
    AP

    FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona woman who pleaded guilty to murder in the starvation death of her 6-year-old son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday after witnesses described the horrors of the tiny closet that reeked of urine where he and his young brother were kept and denied food.

    Elizabeth Archibeque’s lawyer had asked that her sentence include the possibility of parole after 35 years partly because she had agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse in the 2020 death of Deshaun Martinez.

    But Coconino Superior Court Judge Ted Reed said that while her expression of remorse was genuine, her “heinous, cruel and depraved behavior” warranted imprisonment for “the rest of your natural life.”

    One police detective testified Thursday that she had never seen anything as horrific in her entire life.

    Archibeque, 29, who briefly took the witness stand to testify on her own behalf on Thursday, said she blamed herself for her son’s death and fully accepted whatever sentence she received.

    “A huge part of me died along with my beautiful child,” she said. “Not a day goes by that I do not grieve ... I am so sorry.”

    Archibeque was charged along with the boy’s father, Anthony Martinez, and grandmother, Ann Martinez, who have pleaded not guilty and are being tried separately on murder and child abuse charges.

    Archibeque’s public defender, Christine Brown, suggested Thursday the other two were primarily to blame for the abuse of the two emaciated boys.

    An autopsy determined Deshaun Martinez, who weighed just 18 pounds (8.1 kilograms), died of severe starvation. Authorities found him unresponsive after Ann Martinez called 911 on March 2, 2020, and said she thought her grandson was dead. The manner of death later was listed as homicide.

    The boy’s parents initially attributed their son’s malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills. Eventually, they told police they kept him and his older brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them little to eat. The brother survived.

    The boys’ confinement was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept, police said. Their two sisters, ages 4 and 2, were found healthy in the apartment where they all lived.

    Flagstaff police Detective Melissa Seay testified during Thursday’s sentencing hearing that on the day Deshaun’s body was found in the family’s Flagstaff apartment, she examined the 21-by-25-inch closet where the boys slept with an orange piece of plastic on the floor and a “foul, awful smell of urine.”

    “I have never seen something so horrific in all my life,” Seay said. She said Deshaun “was just bones.”

    “His face was completely sunken in. It was just like a skeleton,” Seay said. She said his brother didn’t fare much better.

    “His bones were protruding from his back. I could see his ribs,” she said.

    Deputy County Attorney Michael Tunink said he decided not to show the evidence photos during the sentencing hearing because they were so “disturbing it is hard on anyone who has to see them.”

    Brown said Archibeque was addicted to methamphetamine at birth, had a traumatic upbringing and suffered from mental issues. She said her husband and mother-in-law inflicted physical and emotional abuse on her and she “felt powerless” to do anything about the situation.

    Brown said Archibeque told her during one visit to the jail that “I feel more free in here than I did with him.”

    She said Archibeque “is very aware she will spend the rest of her life in prison” but feels a “huge sense of relief” knowing her children now live in a better place.

    Lawyers for both sides requested and the judge agreed to seal all pre-sentencing documents because of their sensitive nature in an effort to protect the other children’s privacy.

    The foster mother who took in Deshaun’s siblings said his brother was “so traumatized about food and eating” that he would “ask every five minutes” when they would eat next and kept a “special little lunch box with snacks that would never leave his side.”

    She said it has taken three years for one of the sisters to begin to talk and that the other one “holds the belief she carried both brothers on her back and saved them.”

    “So much has been taken from these children,” she said.

    Lawyers for Ann Martinez are scheduled to appear at a case management conference Sept. 18, with her trial currently set to begin in January 2024. Anthony Martinez had been scheduled to go to trial earlier this year, but the trial date was vacated and has not been reset.

    https://apnews.com/article/arizona-c...6aa1e03ced99bd
    Last edited by Steven; 07-28-2023 at 06:51 AM.

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