Mom Accused of Murdering Family Gives Bizarre Court Appearance, Smiles at Camera
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — A woman charged with killing four of her young children and her husband smiled and flashed a double thumbs upward to news cameras during her first courtroom appearance Fri in metro Atlanta before telling a judge she doesn't desire an attorney.
Likewise, an clearing official said the adult female, who is from United mexican states, entered the U.S. illegally.
Isabel Martinez, 33, appeared before Gwinnett County Magistrate Court Judge Michael Thorpe a day after police said she stabbed the v to expiry and seriously injured another child at her dwelling exterior Atlanta. The injured child, a 9-twelvemonth-old girl, survived only remained hospitalized with injuries constabulary described every bit serious.
Earlier the hearing began, Martinez sat with other inmates and struck poses for cameras — smiling, giving the thumbs up, putting her easily in a prayer position and spreading her arms out wide.
Every bit Thorpe listed the charges confronting her — v counts of malice murder, v counts of murder and 6 counts of aggravated assault — Martinez smiled, shook her head "no" and wagged her finger at him. The approximate advised her sharply not to perform for the cameras.
"Ma'am, I'yard going to caution you to cut out the display for the cameras," he said. "It'south really non a good idea, probably non to your benefit."
When Thorpe informed her of her right to take an attorney, she said through a Spanish-linguistic communication interpreter that she doesn't want ane. She later added that her attorney will always exist the people "that nosotros're fighting for" and her religion.
"You are the hope of the world, each one of you," she said in Spanish, appearing to address the news cameras. "Information technology doesn't matter what color you are because God loves us all."
Thorpe brash Martinez to hire a lawyer or to permit one to be appointed for her.
Meanwhile, U.South. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Bryan Cox said in an email Friday that Martinez — whom he identified as Maria Isabel Garduno-Martinez — is from Mexico and entered the country illegally. This is her start encounter with immigration government, and it's not articulate how long she has been in the U.S., Cox said.
Local officials called the killings "horrendous."
"What prompts a person to accept the life of such innocent children and her spouse is something we may never sympathize," Gwinnett County police said in a statement. "This is a horrendous criminal offence not only for the victims simply for the extended family, neighborhood and community."
Psychologists and others who study cases of mothers defendant of killing their children say information technology'southward not as uncommon as people might believe. But media coverage often focuses on dramatic cases, such as Andrea Yates who was found not guilty past reason of insanity for the 2001 drowning deaths of her v children in her suburban Houston home.
Other cases go less attending, equally when a woman kills a newborn or in children's deaths blamed on neglect, said Cheryl Meyer, co-author of two books on mothers who have killed children based on almost 1,000 cases during the 1990s.
That amounts to roughly one death every three days. If anything, the total based on media reports at the time underestimates the reality, said Meyer, a psychology professor at Wright State University in Ohio.
In cases when mothers kill intentionally, Meyer said there is frequently some other influence, such as mental health bug, postpartum depression or the loss of a close loved one.
"We similar to classify these women as pariahs, that they aren't at all similar us," Meyer said. "I found that was not the case."
Some neighbors in the small, largely Hispanic neighborhood in Loganville, virtually 30 miles (48 kilometers) eastward of Atlanta, said they had no clue annihilation was amiss in the home until police force mobbed the scene Thursday morning time. The neighbors said the Spanish-speaking family had moved to the community recently, and their children seemed happy playing with other neighborhood kids.
Victoria Nievs said Martinez had recently suffered the decease of her father.
Gwinnett County Constabulary Cpl. Michele Pihera confirmed that the 911 phone call came from a woman who was inside the home at 4:47 a.grand. Thursday to report a stabbing. Police believe Martinez made that phone call.
Pihera said the caller was speaking Spanish, which initially made it difficult for 911 operators to communicate with her. The county sheriff'south role said Martinez is on a hold for U.S. Clearing and Customs Enforcement.
The hospitalized girl, Diana Romero, was in serious merely stable condition Th evening, police force said.
The four children killed were identified every bit Isabela Martinez, ten; Dacota Romero, seven; Dillan Romero, 4; and Axel Romero, ii. Their slain father was Martin Romero, 33, Pihera said. Law said Romero and Isabel Martinez were married.
Early indications are that a knife was used to attack the five, though a medical examiner volition make the final determination almost the cause of death, she said.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/georgia-mom-charged-killing-family-smiles-court-n780571
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