FONTANA - Bertha Martinez, 35, has been arrested on suspicion of homicide and booked her into West Valley Detention Center without bail. The victims are her husband Marcelo Martinez, 58, and their two daughters Amy, 7, and 8-month-old Yomay. A motive in the killing was not known, but police said the couple had a troubled relationship. They had been separated and had gotten back together a year ago. The husband suffered blunt force trauma to his head and the girls were found in bed, covered in sheets.
The crime was discovered about 10 a.m. after Martinez went to a friend’s house and stated that she might have done something bad and that her kids were purple from the neck up. The children were victims of strangulation or suffocation.
25 responses so far ↓
1
Hippiepoet
Jan 22, 2008 at 1:44 am -Geez, I clicked on the news page and her face pops up…..made me jump. She looks so much older than 35. Scary looking lady.
2
impqueen
Jan 22, 2008 at 6:17 am -I’m all, she’s *younger* than I am? Not by much, but holy cats. And she “might have” done something bad? Sounds like a setup for an insanity plea to me.
Those poor babies.
3
dammitall
Jan 22, 2008 at 8:02 am -“Might have” done “something bad”. Gee, Bertha, ya think?
The murders apparently didn’t fix whatever she was pissed off about.
4
IronDawg
Jan 22, 2008 at 8:23 am -damn she looks evil. those poor kids.
5
Kathy
Jan 22, 2008 at 9:32 am -Her husband was 23 years older than her. But I bet they looked the same age. *shudder*
What the hell could they have been fighting about to make her kill her kids too?
Who wants to make a bet that alcohol was involved…probably even alcohol addiction. She LOOKS like a heavy drinker.
6
Sherbear
Jan 22, 2008 at 9:34 am -Very scary lookin’ woman. Another case of a mother gone bad. If she was mad at her husband, fine. But the babies? Come on. At least fricken give them a chance at life. There are so many people that would love to raise those babies.
7
Hippiepoet
Jan 22, 2008 at 9:42 am -I read somewhere this morning, where the husband was disabled. Bad back and such. She was out of work and their house was going to be sold, I believe, and they had to move. Can’t see how that would set her off to kill her family, but just passing on what I read. Money problems can cause an awful lot of tension in a family. So who knows?
8
ells9824
Jan 22, 2008 at 9:46 am -John List was in dire financial straights when he killed his family. He took off and lived for years under AKAs, though. This lady told on herself.
9
WryBread
Jan 22, 2008 at 10:51 am -Well, at least she isn’t pulling that “poor me, why be mean to me” face that female mug shots so often display. And what is she wearing? Some kind of housecoat? Armor?
10
ells9824
Jan 22, 2008 at 11:01 am -I was looking at that,too. I think its a jacket over a v-neck shirt, but the jacket has some weird epaulets on it.
11
rollyo
Jan 22, 2008 at 11:12 am -you are right he does look like a heavy drinker………..oh wait, are you saying that he is a girl?
12
WryBread
Jan 22, 2008 at 11:14 am -I’m trying to figure out if it’s some beautiful ethnic quilting and embroidery or just plain dirty. Hard to tell with vintage stuff, but is this vintage? Looks as if the fusible interfacing has gone bad on the jacket edges. Well, we can write and ask her when she’s settled in a prison. I’ll bet she probably just tossed on whatever before going to ask someone if having purple-faced children is bad.
13
Old Man Metal
Jan 22, 2008 at 2:49 pm -Inuit Battle Smock.
14
dammitall
Jan 22, 2008 at 7:17 pm -I’m glad I wasn’t drinking anything. I’d have ruint the keyboard.
15
WryBread
Jan 23, 2008 at 12:59 am -OMG, it’s dangerous to laugh this hard. Be careful, Old Man Metal, or you’ll be responsible for the first internet-laughing death.
16
Old Man Metal
Jan 23, 2008 at 12:48 pm -Lol… wonder if that story would make this site. I better get my excuses ready and make me a white trash myspace.
17
Morbid
Jan 23, 2008 at 1:15 pm -Just be sure to pose in a trashy room by some trashy mattresses in a trashy pose that looks like you are about to shit on the trashy linoleum floor. And pucker up.
18
Old Man Metal
Jan 23, 2008 at 1:54 pm -Linoleum… gotta get linoleum… remember to get linoleum
19
pms.247
Jan 23, 2008 at 2:21 pm -LOL Wrybread - too funny.
20
WryBread
Jan 23, 2008 at 3:11 pm -This is rather like mother’s clean underwear for traffic accidents rule. FIRST thing in the morning, put on clothes that you would feel okay to have end up in a mug shot, especially when you have important questions to ask about curiously quiet people in your home.
21
pms.247
Jan 23, 2008 at 3:22 pm -Okay, I need to log off here for a while and get some work done - you are killing me today with your lines, Wry. I had a horrible headache, but apparently laughter IS the best medicine. Thank you!
22
mo.armymom
Jan 23, 2008 at 10:52 pm -Those look like shoulder pads to me. I think that is a shirt left over from 1980. I mean come on people, don’t you always put your shirt on inside out when you get your mug shot taken. lol
23
ells9824
Jan 23, 2008 at 11:16 pm -Does all this crap make you more aware of what’s going on around you? We were cleaning carpets today and moved everything out of my sons room.
When not being supervised, but not in the bath, the kids were taking pictures of each other leaning into the mattress with their feet on the opposite wall so it looked like they were carrying the mattress or spiderman or who the hell knows what they were doing, as I was not watching them at all.
I’m thinking, oh great, this will end up on the net, and there is my laundry I still haven’t done ,few cobwebs up in the corner, bare mattresses in the middle of the hallway…
24
Fliper
Feb 13, 2008 at 11:10 am -ROFL! anyone know what works best to clean coffee off a plasma screen?
Really don’t think the insanity plea will work for her, maybe if she (and I used term very loosely) could prove she does have an IQ of 5 of lower she could claim stupid.
Its people like this that really makes me believe Darwin needs to add some chlorine to the gene pool on a regular basis.
25
bornagainpagan
Feb 29, 2008 at 6:30 am -Nice to see needlepoint overriding garroting in the comment section. ‘Fusible interfacing?’ I didn’t have to look it up, but I sure had to think about it. The embroidery is a little too overdone for my taste, but hey, wash and wear, kill and stare - I don’t care.
But - that’s a beat-down woman. She bears an uncanny resemblance to that 50’s movie gangster Edward G. Robinson, See!
God, has her existence come to this: a faded dress and a frumpy mug shot after murdering the life from your womb? Waiter!- champage and aspirin, if you will.
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