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Martinez appealed his conviction on first-degree murder. The jury sentenced him to death. Additionally he was found guilty of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. That charge, the jury sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The facts of the case follow.
The Millers lived in southern Oklahoma. Just before 5 AM, Ms. Miller called 911 to report shots being fired from a car parts near her home. She could only describe the vehicle is having its lights on. This Miller asked police to come quickly, saying that she had opened garage door and someone saw her standing there with the phone. Two officers were dispatched to the location.
A short time later, another motorist also called 911 to report an abandoned vehicle on the highway. Two deputies arrived and found the vehicle without anyone inside. The keys were still in the ignition and the cabin lights were on. After seeing loose rounds of ammunition inside, the deputies turned off their vehicle lights and got a shotgun, assault rifle, and night vision equipment.
As the deputy scanned the area, they received another dispatch to a burglary in progress just across the highway, a few hundred feet from the abandoned vehicle. As they approached the house, deputies heard a struggle. They knocked at the back door and demanded injury. Just before they broke in, a man unlatched the door and opened it. The police found the man and the defendant inside and quickly detained them.
The kitchen floor where the two men had been fighting was covered with blood and water. The water came from a broken refrigerator line. The man was badly injured and was bleeding from his head. The defendant repeatedly said that he was sorry and told officers that the man lived at the house. The officers also noticed a rifle lying on the kitchen floor. The man told deputies the rifle belonged to the defendant. The man also told deputies that his parents were injured and needed help.
The man later testified at trial, said Tulsa criminal defense attorney Stephen Cale. He said he had spent the night with his parents and slept the guest bedroom. He awoke the next morning to allowed noise invoices. At first he thought his father might’ve fallen asleep with the television on. He then heard a loud unfamiliar voice asking where some money was. The man was now alarmed and got up. He yelled down the hallway to ask what was going on.
The man saw a stranger step into the hallway from his parents bedroom and walk away him him. He followed the stranger the pause just long enough to peek into his parents’ bedroom. His mother was lying on the bed facedown in her pants were around her ankles. She was still breathing but appeared injured.
The defendant was rummaging around in the garage as the man stepped into the living room. The defendant attacked. Is the defendant in the man thought, the man pleaded with the defendant to let him get help for his parents. The defendant eventually stopped fighting and apologized.
The man looked into the garage and saw his father lying on the floor. His dad was still breathing that was obviously injured. The man picked up a rifle he saw lying on the floor. He determined that it was unloaded and called 911. The defendant sat on the floor for a few minutes but then got up and threw a barbell at the man. It struck the phone he was using the call 911. The defendant then wrestled the rifle away from the man struck him in the head with several blows from the butt of the rifle. The man was still fighting with the defendant when he opened the door and deputies entered the home.
Emergency responders transported the parents to local hospitals. They both died there their injuries. The woman suffered extensive bruising to her face and upper body. She also suffered injuries to her arms, inner thighs, and legs. Blunt force head trauma caused bleeding and bruising to her scalp, the injuries caused a shift to her brain. She also sustained dramatic injuries to her vagina and anus consistent with forcible sexual assault.
The father suffered blunt force head trauma and had several scalp lacerations. He also had a skull fracture and bleeding in the brain. He also suffered from bruising and scraping on his arms. Anyone charged with a sex crime should find the best Tulsa criminal defense attorney well worth the money.
The defendant’s father testified that the defendant borrowed his rifle and a box of ammunition. Supposedly he was going hog hunting early in the morning. He learned a few days later that defendant had been arrested. When the defendant was searched at the crime scene, deputies recovered the father’s wallet and a set of keys belonging to the man. They also recover defendant sweatshirt and T-shirt in the father’s bedroom. The defendant’s genes were stained with blood, which was eventually matched to all three victims through testing. There’s too much on the line to not hire the best Tulsa criminal defense attorney.
The defendant did not testify at trial. In his written and taped statements to police, he claimed that his friend attacked the victims. Police later identified this frantic confirmed is whereabouts for the morning of the crimes. In a second interview several days later, the defendant told investigators that the killings were committed by hitchhiker.
At trial, the defense attorney acknowledged that defendant had killed the victims, said Tulsa criminal defense attorney Stephen Cale. However, the attorney argued that the unplanned nature of the crimes and the defendants intoxication created a reasonable doubt of the element of malice aforethought. Malice aforethought is a element that must be proven in order to convict for first-degree murder.
No one should talk to the police even if they want to confess. If the police try to question you, it’s always best to tell them that you want a lawyer. You can always change your mind later if you want to talk. But it’s best to preserve your rights first. If you don’t want to spend a long time in prison, seek out the best Tulsa criminal defense attorney.