Police were closing in on Martinez in the death of another of Amanda Crews’ children, 2-year-old Christopher Ripley, a son from a previous relationship who died under mysterious circumstances in October.
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Martinez is allegedly responsible for the horrific scene uncovered by Modesto officers Saturday afternoon. About 1 a.m., the tense manhunt ended quietly in the Westfield-Oakridge mall parking lot as Martinez was confronted by police and quickly surrendered.
Crews’ family said the doctor was dating 30-year-old Martin Martinez, who was also Rachael’s father and is considered the sole suspect in the killings, according to police. Rachel was apparently Martinez’s daughter. Police arent releasing information about a motive, cause of death or how long the three girls and two women had been dead when they were found, she said. San Jose police got a tip he was in the area visiting family. Investigators had named Martinez as a “person of interest” in the case Saturday and said he was last seen driving a red Lincoln Navigator.
Modesto police officers went to Crews’ home for a welfare check around 3:30 p.m. Saturday after Crews and her daughter didn’t show up to a planned meeting with friends, and found the bodies. San Jose police spokesman Albert Morales said officers found the vehicle abandoned in the southeastern part of San Jose. Neighbors in San Jose who heard the police activity on their street say they were terrified to hear what Martinez was arrested for.
Both neighbors and public records show that the home was once owned by Martinez’s elderly relatives, and was passed on to other relatives after their deaths in the past few years.
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Martinez was spotted walking back to the vehicle and was arrested without incident roughly 15 minutes later, according to Morales. Crews had three daughters. He has been booked into a Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of murder.
