"I let them do it:" Transcripts reveal mother watched as 10-year-old daughter was raped, killed
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico -- Transcripts of police interviews with Michelle Martens, the mother of the 10-year-old New Mexico girl who was brutally raped and killed in August, reveal that she told investigators different stories before allegedly admitting she did nothing as her daughter was tortured by her boyfriend and his cousin, even as the child begged them to stop.
Editor's note: This story contains graphic and disturbing content, and may not be suitable for all readers.
The new interviews were obtained by multiple local television stations in Albuquerque.
Martens initially told police that she and her boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, were attacked in the middle of the night by his cousin, Jessica Kelley, according to KRQE News, which was among the stations that released the interview details Friday, October 7th.
“Jessica comes into our bedroom and asks me if I believe in God,” she told police, according to KRQE. “She kept hitting me, hitting me, hitting me, punching.”
Marten said she managed to escape and was running to get help when Kelly yelled that her daughter, Victoria Martens, was dead.
But her story changed during the course of questioning. In a second version, she allegedly stated that she had left Victoria at home with Gonzales and Kelley, who is a convicted rapist, according to the station.
Martens said Victoria died after taking some methamphetamine that had been left out on a table, and that Gonzales and Kelly had tried to dispose of the child's body, the transcripts showed.
The pair also threatened to kill her, she claimed.
“That if I say anything, I’m going to be the next one,” Martens said.
But hours after the interview began, Martens again changed her story, according to Albuquerque television station KOB. At that point, she told investigators she watched as Gonzales and Kelley gave the child meth -- which according to Martens "calms her down" -- so they could rape her, the television station reported.
Martens allegedly told investigators that her daughter begged them to stop while she looked on and did nothing.
“I let them do it,” Martens said, according to the transcripts.
She then told investigators that, “Jessica was stabbing her,” and that she and her cousins started “cutting arms.”
The gruesome incident occurred around 5 p.m. on Aug. 23, the day after Victoria's birthday, according to the mother.
After Victoria was killed, the three "acted like nothing ever happened," Martens told police.
She had sex with Gonzales just 20 minutes after he allegedly raped and killed Victoria. The three also cleaned up and made dinner, KRQE reported.
During his interview, Gonzales said that he had sex with Victoria “shortly after the child was deceased,” according to a search warrant.
The police transcripts also revealed chilling and disturbing details about the final month of the child's short life.
Martens said that the pair had sexually assaulted Victoria three times in the days before they allegedly strangled and stabbed her to death, and that she suspected her boyfriend had perpetrated the sexual abuse of the young girl for about a month, KRQE reported.
During the interview, which lasted about eight hours, she told investigators he raped Victoria daily the month before her killing while also taking pornographic videos and photos, according to KOB.
The pair had only been dating for about a month at the time of the homicide.
Victoria had also been sexually assaulted by at least two other men -- allegedly as her mother watched -- in the six months before her death, KOB reported.
“Michelle stated she watched this … happen for sexual gratification," according to previously released court documents.
Martens has been charged with kidnapping and child abuse resulting in death. Gonzales faces the same charges as well as child rape.
Kelley was also charged with kidnapping, child abuse resulting in death and child rape.
Their trials are expected to take place next year, according to the reports.