MODESTO, Calif. — A man who killed five people in a Modesto home and a 2-year-old boy in a separate attack was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without parole.
Martin Martinez pleaded guilty to murder for the 2015 attack at the home and voluntary manslaughter for the 2014 death of the boy, who was the son of his girlfriend by a previous marriage.
Authorities say Martinez was about to be charged with the boy's death when he stabbed or suffocated his girlfriend, 38-year-old Dr. Amanda Crews, her two young daughters by a previous marriage, 6-year-old Elizabeth Ripley and 5-year-old Esmerelda Navarro, the couple's own 6-month-old daughter Rachel Martinez, and his own mother, 57-year-old Ana Brown-Romero.
Martinez agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
During his plea, Martinez revealed details of the killing spree on July 18, 2015. According to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, Martinez admitted that he entered the home through the garage door. He said he first attacked his mother in the laundry room and stabbed her to death. He then admitted to moving throughout the house, suffocating both Elizabeth and Esmeralda in the master bedroom.
He admitted to suffocating his daughter Rachel in a downstairs bedroom. He then said he waited for Crews to return home from work, at which point he said he stabbed her to death.
Martinez was sentenced to five consecutive life terms I prison without the possibility of parole for the 2015 killings. He received an 11-year sentence for the 2014 killing of 2-year-old Christopher Ripley.
The next court date is scheduled for March 12, when family members will be allowed to read impact statements.
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