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Thread: Valerie Dee Martin - California Death Row

  1. #1
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    Valerie Dee Martin - California Death Row


    Valerie Dee Martin


    Summary of Offense:

    Valerie Dee Martin, born on September 13, 1967, was prosecuted along with three men. She was convicted of murdering a victim named William Whiteside, who was killed on February 28, 2003. Two of her co-defendants were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The third defendant's case is still pending.

    Martin was sentenced to death in Los Angeles County on March 26, 2010.

  2. #2
    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    Valerie Martin (Case No. MA026253). She was convicted and sentenced to death for the robbery, kidnapping and murder of her boyfriend, William Whiteside. Her co-defendants Christopher Kennedy and Ronald Kupsch received life sentences, without the possibility of parole. A fourth defendant, Brad Zoda, fourteen years-old at the time of the crime, who testified against his fellow co-defendants, is expected to accept a first degree murder juvenile "conviction" within the next month or two. After his admission, I will be happy to discuss details of the case with you. Please feel free to write or contact me in November.

  3. #3
    Administrator Michael's Avatar
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    November 25, 2003

    FOUR BOUND OVER FOR TRIAL IN SLAYING MOTHER, SON AMONG CHARGED

    LANCASTER - A Lancaster woman, her teenage son, an ex-convict and another teenager have been ordered to stand trial on charges of murdering the woman's roommate, a 61-year-old hospital worker.

    The four are charged in the slaying of William Whiteside, an Antelope Valley Hospital maintenance worker whose battered body was found March 10 inside the trunk of his burned car.

    "They were held to answer as was charged,'' Deputy District Attorney Daviann Mitchell said.

    Valerie Martin, the 36-year-old woman who lived with Whiteside, her 17-year-old son, Ronald Kupsch, 15-year-old Bradley Zoda, and 28-year-old ex-convict Christopher Kennedy have pleaded not guilty.

    The teenagers have been publicly identified because they are being tried as adults.

    They were bound over for trial Friday after a lengthy preliminary hearing.

    Coroner's officials say Whiteside, who lived in the Lido Estates mobile-home park, died from thermal burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries, including head injuries. Investigators believe Whiteside was knocked out and put into the trunk of his car, which was then set afire on an Antelope Valley road.

    Authorities have not commented on the motive for the killing.

    The two teens were arrested March 10. Martin was arrested March 12. When investigators began searching for Kennedy, a Lancaster resident, they found that he had been arrested Feb. 28 on a separate parole violation.

    Martin also is an ex-convict, with a state prison record for a drug conviction.

    According to California Department of Corrections records, Martin spent just more than three months in prison on a Kern County conviction for possession of a controlled substance. She was paroled in March 1999.

    Department of Corrections records indicate that Kennedy was sent to prison twice for grand theft convictions, in November 1995 and September 2000. He was paroled most recently last September.

    According to Lido Estates neighbors, Martin and her teenage son had lived with Whiteside in his mobile home for seven or eight months before his death.

    Whiteside was the father of grown children and had been separated from his wife for about two years, neighbors said. They said the victim and Martin met through their jobs at the hospital, where Martin worked in housekeeping.

    Whiteside was last seen Feb. 27 and was reported missing by his wife two days later, according to coroner's records. On Feb. 27, his burned car was found on a street. Sheriff's deputies had it towed to a local tow yard.

    On March 10, arson investigators arrived to search the car and discovered Whiteside's burned body in the trunk.

    Source

  4. #4
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    I received an email requesting an update on this case. Valerie Dee Martin has yet to file her direct appeal before the California Supreme Court.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  5. #5
    Banned TheKindExecutioner's Avatar
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    Wasn't this case on "Sins and Secrets" on Discovery ID?

  6. #6
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Yes. That's what the emailer said. I DVR'd the 4:00 a.m. rerun.
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    Counsel was appointed to represent Martin on direct appeal on October 30, 2013.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...9SICAgCg%3D%3D

  8. #8
    LesMac
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    Does anyone know if Brad Zoda has been released? He was 14 at the time of the murder. I believe that he was sentenced to 10 years in exchange for his testimony against the others. I can't find him anywhere and he's not listed by the California Dept. of Corrections - possibly because of his age at the time of the murder.

    You're probably right. There are 20 women on California's Death Row but no woman has been executed in California since Ma Duncan in 1962.

    It seems unlikely that any of them will be executed soon.

  9. #9
    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by LesMac View Post
    Does anyone know if Brad Zoda has been released?
    Try contacting the county prosecutor.

    Contact Email Form

    Metropolitan Area Office

    1933 South Broadway
    Suite 730
    Los Angeles, CA 90007
    Phone:
    (213) 744-4201
    Fax:
    (213) 746-7556

    Juvenile Division

    215 North Marengo Street
    Room 200
    Pasadena, CA 91101
    Phone:
    (626) 356-5785
    Fax:
    (626) 577-5639

    Media Relations

    211 West Temple Street
    Suite 1200
    Los Angeles, CA 90012
    Phone: (213) 257-2000
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

  10. #10
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Martin's direct appeal has been fully briefed before the California Supreme Court since April 25, 2018.

    http://appellatecases.courtinfo.ca.g...9SICAgCg%3D%3D

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