This Aug. 25, 2016 booking photo provided by the Metropolitan Detention Center shows Fabian Gonzales.
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Michelle Martens, the 35-year-old mother of the victim; her boyfriend Fabian Gonzales, 31, and the latter’s same-age cousin Jessica Kelley faced charges of child abusing leading to death and tampering with evidence.
Authorities took 31-year-old Jessica Kelley to Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Detention Center Friday following her hospitalization for unspecified reasons.
A caller told a police dispatcher before dawn Wednesday that there was a disturbance in the apartment, said Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden Jr.
A birthday celebration had been planned for Victoria Wednesday afternoon after she was supposed to return home from school, Laura Bobbs, a local minister, told the Albuquerque Journal.
One of the police officers who arrived at the apartment found the girl’s body in a bathroom, rolled up in a blanket that had been set on fire. On the day the girl was goin.
The death of murdered Albuquerque 10-year-old Victoria Martens has spawned outrage, an outpouring of internet support and widespread grief in New Mexico and around the world.
New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Secretary Monique Jacobson said Friday records showed no prior cases involving violence or sexual abuse against Victoria Martens. Victoria Martens was not known to have been a victim of previous violent abuse, but officials acknowledged on Friday that Gonzales, who is accused of injecting her with methamphetamine before raping her, was not being monitored by probation officers or tested for drugs as mandated by a judge a year ago.
In that case, 31-year-old Fabian Gonzales was arrested for beating a woman in a vehicle with a baby inside it while the woman was driving. But officials acknowledged Friday that Gonzales was not being monitored by probation officers or tested for drugs as mandated by a judge past year.
She was stabbed and strangled to death.
Zamora said in an interview Thursday she was stunned to learn the girl’s mother was arrested Wednesday in connection with her daughter’s death.
“We have a litany of little angels who are crying at us from the grave”, said Allen Sanchez, executive director of the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops.
People who knew a 10-year-old Albuquerque girl police say was drugged, raped, strangled and stabbed say the child was well-liked and friendly. The agency has joined police in the investigation into the death. Then they made the most heartbreaking discovery of all: Victoria’s dismembered body.
Three people including the girl’s mother and the mother’s boyfriend have been arrested in the killing. Officer Tanner Tixier said in a news release Wednesday, Aug. 24, that charges are being filed against Gonzales, Michelle Martens, and Jessica Kelley.
Martens was charged in court Thursday with kidnapping and child abuse resulting in death. Gonzales and Kelley are also charged of criminal sexual penetration of a minor.
Second Judicial District Court spokesman Tim Korte says court records show the judgment and probation order were forwarded to the corrections department in February 2015. It was meant to ensure he committed no crimes and threatened jail time as punishment for violations like illegal drug use. But they wanted to express their thanks for the efforts of the first responders, government officials who have offered resources to investigate and prosecute the case and the countless community members who have offered their prayers. Details of what New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and law enforcement officials described as an unspeakable crime emerged Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, in a criminal complaint made public and filed against the girl’s mother, her boyfriend and his cousin, Jessica Kelley.
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Judge Schultz called the case one of the worst he had seen. The first was held at Victoria’s apartment complex, and it was an homage to the birthday party she never got to celebrate as well as a commemoration of the little girl’s tragically short life.
