Victoria Martens: Butchered On Her 10th Birthday
This is horrible. Victoria had just celebrated her 10th birthday at school. I don’t know, but this girl dating me really bad… It’s her 10th birthday, she’s supposed to be celebrating with friends and family. I spoke to her Tuesday afternoon. I says, “How was your party?” She say, “Oh, it was good.” “Did they sing Happy Birthday to you at school?” “Yes.” Stories keep changing about what happened and who’s involved. After she was strangled and killed, Victoria was then stabbed and dismembered. Some of her vital organs were found in a plastic bag. What would possess a person to want to scatter a small girl’s body parts inside their own home?
Turning 10 years old is an especially important milestone growing up. It is full of excitement and the fear of the unknown. You are no longer in your single digits, but now headed into your pre-teens. Looking back on turning 10, I reflect upon finally being able to ride my bike to the corner store and being able to stay up till 9:00 on a school night. At this tender age, we all look to our parents for protection and guidance. You would just never think that when you need them the most, they just wouldn’t be there.
This case isn’t unknown; in fact, this is a case that’s been heavily requested since we started this channel in 2019, and it was first requested by our friend, Jen, who’s actually a local. We’ve waited to cover it, hoping for some sort of resolution. The details of this case are quite graphic. It involves a beautiful little girl that could have had a bright future ahead of her if it weren’t for her mother’s horrible decisions and selfish behavior. This is the story of Victoria Martens.
Victoria Ann Martens was born August 23rd, 2006, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to her mother, Michelle Martens, and from what Michelle claimed, father Kyle Martinez. However, it’s never actually been proven if Kyle exists, and Victoria’s birth certificate does not list a father. Originally from the Bronx, Michelle moved to Texas, later settling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Arroyo Villas, which is an apartment complex. This is where she would give birth to Victoria in an impromptu home birth. Michelle called Victoria her miracle baby, stating, quote, “Basically, I wasn’t having no doctor visits, I didn’t have no prenatal care, but she was healthy,” end quote.
By all accounts, Victoria was a happy little girl who had an extremely bright future. She had a passion for athletics and attended classes at GeForce Gymnastics Academy every weekend. Victoria also loved swimming, playing with her friends, and, like me, the color purple. Victoria was said to be a fun-loving and energetic little girl who always had a smile on her face.
Around November of 2006, when Victoria was 3 months old, Michelle started dating a man by the name of Jason Awning, who would raise Victoria as his own daughter. Two years later, Victoria’s younger brother, Matthew, would be born. Unfortunately, the relationship between Jason and Michelle would end in 2014, with Jason noting that Michelle had multiple boyfriends. Michelle’s parents, John and Pat Martens, stated that Michelle was a hard worker who loved her kids very much. They would also go on to insist that their daughter, outside of smoking cigarettes, never drank alcohol or did any sort of illicit substances. In fact, she was required to pass a drug test for her new night shift position at the deli in Smith’s grocery store. Michelle had no known arrests or a criminal record in the state of New Mexico at the time. However, Michelle was diagnosed with a low IQ. Those around her could pretty much convince her to do whatever they pleased.
In March of 2016, an anonymous call was placed to CPS, which was later confirmed to be Michelle. It was reported that Michelle’s boyfriend at the time, David Hernandez, tried to kiss Victoria, who was 9 years old. David had a history of SA [sexual assault] to minors, including several members of his own family. Somehow, he never ended up being charged in any of these SA cases, although he would be arrested for the attempted kidnapping of a 4-year-old girl. According to a May 2013 complaint filed in the Metropolitan Courts, David grabbed the 4-year-old girl from her apartment complex parking lot. The girl’s mother gave chase across town in her car before crashing into him. But thankfully, the little girl was pushed from the car before the crash without any injury. David fled on foot, leaving behind both his vehicle’s registration and his birth certificate, which ultimately tied him to the incident.
After a 24-hour manhunt, David turned himself in to the police. The case was later dismissed after a judge suppressed key evidence that included statements from the involved parties. This case was refiled in 2015, but again dismissed when a judge ruled that David’s right to a speedy trial had been violated. When Michelle found out about David’s past, she said she kicked him out of the house immediately. Both Michelle’s parents and neighbors said that after David was finally gone, the family was living a stable life with the kids thriving at school. CPS was said to have referred the report to the Albuquerque Police Department, as it was policy for this type of incident, but the APD did no further investigation, citing that there had been no crime committed. Former APD spokesperson Fred Duran was reported to have said, quote, “Unfortunately, somebody attempting to do something such as kissing a child is not a crime,” end quote.
This wouldn’t be the last call to CPS. In fact, five different calls were made within the span of 8 months. The exact nature of each report differs, from poor hygiene to Michelle herself calling, saying her son was left with an unknown caretaker by her ex. CPS secretary Monique Jacobson would tell reporters that both kids were interviewed at school, as well as in their home, by a caseworker. Neither Victoria nor Matthew had any marks, bruises, or evidence of physical harm and appeared to be well taken care of.
In July of 2016, 35-year-old Michelle met 31-year-old Fabian Gonzalez on the popular dating website Plenty of Fish, and her poor judgment with men continued. Fabian was a repeat offender in the state of New Mexico with a lengthy criminal history. This included a 2014 attack on his former girlfriend, which resulted in a 2015 plea deal where he pled guilty on two minor charges and received two years of supervised probation under the New Mexico Department of Corrections. His record also includes four battery charges, two resulting in great bodily harm. Just like in the case of David Hernandez, Michelle would quickly ask Fabian to move in with her and her kids.
Michelle claimed that she did not know Fabian smoked anything more than cigarettes. When she found out, she wasn’t exactly happy and asked him to do it outside. She also claimed to have no knowledge of his use of stronger substances. At first, Fabian seemed to be the perfect fit. He was good with both kids and seemed to keep up with the cooking and cleaning around the house. However, Fabian was unemployed, so Michelle was taking care of him and her two kids on her own. The way Michelle spoke of Fabian, you would have thought they had the perfect relationship. Sadly, Fabian would continue to take advantage of Michelle, even going as far as selling her EBT card. Additionally, Fabian asked Michelle to keep their relationship away from her family’s knowledge. According to him, it was too new, and he wanted to wait to meet them. According to neighbors, people were coming and going from the house at all hours after Fabian’s arrival, with five neighbors noting that there was an awful lot of noise.
After what happened with David Hernandez, you would hope that Michelle would have been more aware of who she let into her home, but unfortunately, it gets worse. On August 15th, 2016, Fabian’s cousin, 31-year-old Jessica Kelly, was released from prison. Fabian told Michelle that Jessica needed a place to stay, or she would end up being homeless. I’m sure Michelle thought that this wasn’t a good idea, but because she loved Fabian, she agreed to let Jessica stay for a week while she was looking for a job.
Jessica herself had a very extensive criminal history, including felony SA. According to the Albuquerque Journal, Jessica acted as a lookout for an inmate who assaulted another inmate with a mop in September of 2012 at the Metropolitan Detention Center, to which she pled no contest. For this, Jessica was sentenced to an additional 3 years in prison, minus nearly a year for time served. In addition, Jessica’s criminal record spanned over a decade with a multitude of charges, including four counts of battery and DV. She also pled guilty to an attack on a peace officer in 2007, as well as DWI in 2010 and 2011, trafficking of illicit substances, and two shoplifting charges.
It’s been stated that Jessica wasn’t all that bad when she wasn’t on her substance of choice, but that’s up for debate because she wasn’t on this substance of choice while in prison. When talking about this substance, which is a banned word on YouTube, we often throw up pictures from Breaking Bad, which coincidentally also takes place in Albuquerque. Sadly, in the early morning hours of August 23rd, 2016, Fabian and Jessica began to use this substance of choice while the rest of the household slept.
That same day, Victoria Martens spent her 10th birthday making cupcakes with her mother, after which they walked to her bus stop. Victoria attended Petroglyph Elementary School, where she had just begun the fourth grade. Surrounded by her friends in a class party, they sang Happy Birthday, ate cupcakes, and enjoyed pizza. Afterwards, Victoria boarded the school bus to return home to her mother. They had planned a party for Victoria in the park over the weekend, but unfortunately, when she arrived at her bus stop that afternoon, her mother wasn’t there.
So where were Michelle and Fabian, you may ask? Their afternoon was spent riding around town, stopping at Fabian’s brothers’ and uncle’s houses. Each time, he would go in and leave Michelle in the car. This wasn’t a one-time deal, and on occasion, Victoria would accompany the pair on said rides. Michelle would complain that Fabian smelled like he’d been smoking, and on some occasions, smelled like burnt cotton candy, and she was never allowed to go inside with him. There’s never been an explanation for this, but I’m pretty sure you can draw your own conclusions to what Fabian was up to.
Due to this afternoon adventure, Michelle would not be home to pick Victoria up from the bus stop, so she texted Jessica and asked her for help. According to Michelle, Jessica did not answer her text, so she contacted her mother, Pat. But after pondering it over for a moment, Michelle told her not to come due to the shady cast of characters in her home. Michelle claimed that she called and spoke to Jessica by phone, a fact that Jessica later denied. Jessica claimed that she was never once asked to babysit the multiple times the couple left the home that evening.
According to a neighbor that was picking up her own kids at the bus stop, she saw Victoria alone and decided to bring her home. The neighbor alleged that she called Michelle to advise her that Victoria was at her apartment. According to the neighbor, Michelle told her that it was okay to let Victoria go home, so that’s what she did. By the time Fabian and Michelle returned home, Victoria was busy doing her homework on the porch.
It’s at this part of the story where things start to take a more sinister turn. Instead of celebrating with her family, this innocent 10-year-old girl would soon be found dead by police. Victoria Martens had been dismembered, wrapped in a blanket in the bathroom of her home, placed in the bathtub, and then set on fire.
In the early morning hours of August 24th, 2016, police arrived at Arroyo Villas following a 911 call for a disturbance. The caller, who was a neighbor residing in apartment 407, advised dispatchers that, quote, “a guy is at her door saying that he got beat up pretty bad,” end quote. Upon arrival, police observed Michelle and Fabian outside of the home with physical injuries that indicated that they had been involved in some sort of altercation. Fabian had a large gash over his left eye, and Michelle had a large cut in the center of her face among other injuries, which resulted in 14 stitches.
It was later discovered that after Victoria’s death, Jessica became extremely paranoid and attacked both Michelle and Fabian. She said she was so paranoid about getting caught that since she was going down for one homicide, she might as well kill Michelle and Fabian. Now, this seems strange because Jessica has proclaimed her innocence in the actual killing of Victoria this whole time. Jessica took Michelle and Fabian’s phones and then hit Michelle with an iron that she had chased her around the house with. Fabian eventually wrestled the iron away from Jessica and managed to escape the apartment via the balcony.
Michelle claimed that she ran to Victoria’s room looking for her, but she wasn’t there. According to Michelle, as she reached the front door while still being attacked, Jessica said to her, “By the way, your daughter is dead.” Bleeding badly from her injuries, Michelle fled, not believing what she was just told. It’s important to note that Victoria’s younger brother, Matthew, was not at home during the time any of this took place. He was thankfully at his father’s house spending the night with him.
Shortly after units arrived, a fire alarm could be heard wailing from inside apartment 808, which is where Michelle and company resided. As the officers approached the slightly opened door, Jessica immediately slammed and locked it. Michelle advised the police that her daughter remained inside. Jessica stated that she saw the officers coming, and because Victoria’s body was still there, she thought she could burn the evidence. She lit the blanket covering Victoria on fire after removing two smoke detectors from the wall.
She was then seen by officers jumping from the second-story balcony in an attempt to flee. Police body cam footage would later show that Jessica injured her ankle, which would end up requiring surgery, during the attempted escape. In the footage, she is heard saying, quote, “I didn’t do nothing, and there’s some [__] that went down. No, I didn’t do nothing,” end quote. As she was being apprehended, Jessica began telling officers that there was another man inside the apartment. When asked where this man was, she stated, quote, “He took off. He started trying to wipe blood off and he started panicking,” end quote.
The officers entered the apartment where they were met with a gruesome discovery. There, they found smoke billowing from underneath the closed bathroom door. When the officers entered the bathroom, they were met with a horrifying scene. There in the bathroom tub, they would find the dismembered remains of Victoria, partially wrapped in a blanket, engulfed in flames, which they extinguished using another blanket and a towel that was located nearby.
Once in police custody, the trio were transported to be questioned, where Jessica would refuse to speak without her lawyer present. Fabian was questioned for over 9 hours, in which he continuously denied the entire time either killing or assaulting Victoria. When it was Michelle’s turn to speak, she began to spin a horrific story about the unspeakable things her daughter faced the night before.
In an interview directly following Michelle’s arrest, she first told police that her and her boyfriend were attacked in the middle of the night by Jessica and that she had no idea what happened to Victoria. But detectives weren’t buying it and told her that her boyfriend was telling them everything, although he actually wasn’t. Investigators would go on to ask her, “How did Victoria die? Do you know?” to which Michelle would reply, “She tasted the meth that was on the table.”
Later in the same interview, another investigator would ask Michelle again, “How did they kill her, Michelle? How did they kill Victoria?” This time she would respond by saying, “Stabbing her.” She was asked once more, “How did they kill your daughter?” to which she responded, “By assaulting her.” The investigator probed further, asking her to explain, to which Michelle followed by saying, “Covering her mouth.” Michelle also told police, “They threatened me, saying if I go near her they’re going to kill me too.”
After several hours of interrogation, Michelle finally broke, saying that she watched Fabian and Jessica give Victoria substances so that they could subdue and assault her. She claims Fabian strangled Victoria, after which Jessica stabbed her multiple times in the torso. Then both of the cousins proceeded to cut off Victoria’s arms. She also admitted that she had previously sought out men on the internet to have relations with her young daughter.
All three suspects were arrested and held on a $1 million cash bond. Michelle Martens, Fabian Gonzalez, and Jessica Kelly were indicted on several charges to include aggravated criminal SA, intentional harm of a minor, tampering with evidence, and homicide. However, after initially being co-defendants, new evidence proved that Michelle’s confession was false. Per her autopsy, Victoria had no substances in her system aside from a small amount of alcohol that could never be explained. There are conflicting reports regarding the SA. Some indicate there were physical signs of trauma but no biological fluids. However, other reports point to this happening in the past because, at only 10 years of age, Victoria had HPV.
The prosecution asked that the three be tried separately. This motion was granted in June of the following year, in which each defendant pled not guilty. On August 14th, 2017, Judge Charles Brown ruled that Michelle would be tried on July 30th, 2018. Following Michelle’s trial would be Fabian in October of 2018, and lastly, Jessica in January of 2019.
However, on June 29th, 2018, nearly 2 years after Victoria’s death, Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez made an announcement that Michelle agreed to a plea bargain: one count of child abuse resulting in death. All other charges would be dropped. In the deal she cut, she changed her possible life sentence to one as little as 12 years.
Building a case against Jessica and Fabian based on Michelle’s prior confession would prove to be difficult, as evidence collected—including DNA, phone records, eyewitness accounts, CCTV, and Victoria’s autopsy report—would supply a different story. District Attorney Torrez stated in a press conference that most of the details about the case were simply not true. During the same conference, the APD announced that they were searching for a fourth suspect after unknown male DNA was found on Victoria’s body. Swab samples taken from under Victoria’s nails and on her neck uncovered a mixture of male DNA, enough to exclude Fabian.
Based on the evidence, as well as the testimony from Michelle, Jessica, and neighbors, the District Attorney’s office was able to give an outline of what really happened to Victoria. And just so you know, what might have actually happened is just as, if not more, bizarre than the tales that Michelle initially told the investigators.
According to the DA’s office, on August 23rd, 2016, Victoria exited her bus at 4:25 p.m. and went to the home of a neighbor after Michelle failed to pick her up. Victoria then returned home to her apartment, where Michelle and Fabian were not present. 42 minutes later, at 5:07 p.m., the couple returned home. A little less than an hour later, at 6:05 p.m., Fabian took Victoria to a gas station where he would get a beer and she would get a soda, returning home about 10 to 15 minutes later. At 6:30 p.m., Michelle and Fabian left once more. This is the last time that Michelle would see Victoria alive.
The couple returned to the apartment at 7:02 p.m. with cigarettes for Jessica. At 7:05 p.m., neighbors reported seeing Victoria alive and well, playing outside of the apartment by herself. Jessica noticed Victoria outside and decided to have her come in. At 7:06 p.m., Michelle and Fabian once again left the apartment. At 7:38 p.m., the two were tracked by their cell records being near Rio Bravo Boulevard and Coors Boulevard. At 7:59 p.m., Michelle and Fabian were seen near Five Points and Bridge Boulevard, which, based on a search of Google Maps, is about 25 minutes south of the apartment.
Between 7:06 p.m. and 8:47 p.m., Jessica explained that she was with Victoria inside of the apartment. She claimed that she was so paranoid that she left the apartment door open a little so she could see if anyone was coming. Jessica has stated that a little after 7:00 p.m., Victoria was already in her room. She had already gotten in her pajamas and was watching TV.
According to Jessica, at some point during that evening, an unknown male walked into the apartment asking for “Fable.” The assumption is that Fable is a nickname for Fabian, but that’s not been confirmed. Jessica advised the man that Fabian wasn’t there. The man asked who was there, to which Jessica replied, “Just the little girl,” and motioned to Victoria’s room. Jessica explained that the man seemed to belong there, and due to the fact that she had only resided in the apartment for 4 days, she wasn’t sure who should and should not be there.
The man proceeded into Victoria’s room, and rather than tell him to leave or at the very least follow him, Jessica decided to go out on the balcony for a cigarette. When Jessica came back into the apartment, she claims the man told her, quote, “Fabian F’d up, and he knows what he did. We have a mess in there to clean up, and if I didn’t get it done and let him know, then it’s going to be our lives and my kids’ lives at sundown,” end quote.
Jessica said when the man left the apartment, she went in to check on Victoria. She explained how Victoria looked like she was almost sleeping, but in fact, when Jessica checked her pulse, Victoria was gone. According to her autopsy, Victoria’s cause of death was listed as strangulation, which makes Jessica’s account, although bizarre, more plausible than anything Michelle had offered.
At 8:47 p.m., Michelle and Fabian returned to the apartment for the final time. Shortly thereafter, Jessica was seen by a witness carrying what we now know to be Victoria’s body out of the apartment, wrapped in a blanket. According to Jessica, Victoria was too heavy, so she ended up returning her to her bedroom. Jessica alleged that she pulled Fabian aside and told him what had taken place. After looking at his cousin like she was crazy, Fabian went in to check Victoria for himself. According to Jessica, Fabian freaked out.
Jessica alleged that for the rest of the night, Fabian kept Michelle busy in any way possible. First, Michelle made tacos for the three of them and then retreated to her bedroom with Fabian. Later, Jessica claimed that she witnessed Fabian dismembering the young girl. Now, this didn’t make any sense to her, as the two agreed that they would dispose of Victoria’s remains up on the Mesa. In addition to strangulation, Victoria’s autopsy report revealed that her arms were removed and her left leg partially amputated. Now, if this wasn’t bad enough, Victoria’s heart, a portion of her sternum, and her liver were all recovered in different parts of the home. Even though Fabian kept Michelle distracted, it’s very hard to believe that she didn’t in some way notice this.
Just like Michelle before her, Jessica would never make it to trial. After two failed attempts to reach a plea agreement in September of 2018, the SA charge was dropped due to lack of evidence. In January of 2019, she finally reached a plea deal. Jessica pled no contest to child abuse resulting in death, tampering with evidence, among other charges. She was sentenced to 44 years in prison on April 7th, 2022, by Judge Cindy Leos. Without the plea agreement, Jessica was facing 200 years behind bars; however, with good behavior, she may be looking at as little as 22 years.
Fabian’s trial began on July 13th, 2022, in the Second Judicial District Court, where Judge Leos presided once again. The jury of 10 women and two men deliberated for 3 hours, quickly going over 2 weeks of testimony. Originally charged with child abuse and homicide, Fabian was convicted of child abuse and the death of a minor under the age of 12, seven counts of tampering with evidence, as well as conspiracy to tamper with evidence, among others. As outlandish as it was, the jury believed Jessica’s story. Fabian is facing 18 to 40 years in prison.
Both Michelle Martens and Fabian Gonzalez are set to be sentenced on October 27th, 2022, and as such, we’ll keep an eye out for updates as they come in. In the wake of the aftermath, Victoria’s grandparents, John and Pat Martens, filed a civil lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department just a little over a year later, alleging that the APD did not do enough to protect Victoria before her death. The main goal of this lawsuit was to set more of a structured system in place to protect kids in these situations. There was no monetary gain in this lawsuit. Unfortunately for the Martens, their case was dismissed by a judge on jurisdictional grounds, citing that the Martens did not give enough notice of their intent to sue, which is required by law. The Martens may file again, but they’re hoping the APD will smarten up and do the right thing.
One of the saddest parts of this case is that after six years, no one has been charged in poor Victoria’s death, just the circumstances surrounding it. I had hoped that we’d have some answers by now. However, somewhere out there is a man matching the DNA found on her body. That individual may just hold the key to finding out what really happened to 10-year-old Victoria Martens.
I wanted to apologize for the format change and the quality of this episode. This was due to me losing my voice earlier in the week because I had COVID during recording. I have it right now, we both have it. Yorgi just didn’t lose her voice. She did read this whole episode while being very sick, and she’s behind the camera right now. In the 3 years of doing this, nothing has stopped us from releasing one episode a week, and we weren’t going to let being sick change that. This is a one-time thing, and we’ll be back to the usual two-person format next week. Thank you guys for understanding. We love you very much. Bye.
