The ManicaPost
HUNDREDS of people have paid tribute to a schoolgirl who was drugged, raped, chopped up and burned in a bathtub, allegedly by her own family.
A memorial service was held for Victoria Martens, whose death has rocked the US.
More than 600 mourners dressed in purple — Victoria’s favourite colour — attended the Copper Pointe Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday.
The New York Daily News reports that people who knew Victoria remembered her “kind” and “energetic” spirit. Some described her as an “amazing girl” who had a “special spark”. Laura Bobbs, Victoria’s godmother, told KRQE News 13: “She would often run around her grandparent’s lawn and do her gymnastics.”
White doves were released into the sky to symbolise peace. “She (Victoria) was one of God’s borrowed angels,” Bobbs added.
New Mexico Govenor Susana Martinez told KOB4: “She is no longer in pain. She’s in God’s arms and she’s living in peace.”
Police said Victoria’s dismembered body was discovered wrapped in a blanket on August 24 — her 10th birthday.
Officers were called to a disturbance at Arroyo Villas Apartment Complex in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they saw a cloud of smoke wafting from the bathroom, Mirror Online reported at the time.
Inside they were met with the horrifying scene as the youngster lay reportedly burning in the bathtub, while parts of her body were found in a plastic bag in a laundry hamper and the bedroom floor was stained with blood.
She had been injected with methamphetamine, sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed before her remains were partially wrapped in the blanket and set on fire, police said.
Experienced detectives described the killing as the “most gruesome act of evil” they have ever seen. They added that her mother, Michelle Martens, 35, her boyfriend Fabian Gonzales, 31, and his cousin, Jessica Kelly, 31, have been charged in relation to her death.
According to warrant documents obtained by the Albuquerque Journal, Martens told police she sought out men online to sexually assault her daughter — because she enjoyed watching, Kelley had reportedly been allowed to stay at Martens home after she was released from prison four days earlier.
A police report alleges that Martens admits Gonzales and Kelley gave the girl methamphetamine “to calm her down so they could have sex with her”.
Gonzales sexually assaulted the little girl as Kelley covered the girl’s mouth and Martens watched, it’s alleged.
She claimed Gonzales then strangled Victoria and Kelley stabbed her before the two of them dismembered the girl’s body and Martens told police she was not involved in the death.
Albuquerque Police Department Chief Gordon Eden said in statement: “This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career.
“A complete disregard of human life and betrayal by a mother. So many are in need of the support and prayers of our community.”
Police spokesman Tanner Tixier emotionally told reporters the girl’s body was so mutilated that investigators were unsure how she died. They believe she may have died from asphyxiation or stab wounds, but were awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination.
Both Gonzales and Kelley — who was hospitalised after allegedly jumping from a balcony as she tried to flee the scene — have criminal records, while the mother has no previous convictions.
Martens and Gonzales have both appeared in court where a judge set the bond for both at $1 million (£822,000) cash only.—Mirror Online
