ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The Latest on an investigation into the death of a 10-year-old girl killed two years ago in Albuquerque (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
Prosecutors have dismissed murder and sexual assault charges against a man arrested two years ago in the death of a 10-year-old Albuquerque girl whose dismembered remains were found in her family’s apartment.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez says there is no physical evidence that Fabian Gonzales raped Victoria Martens. Instead, a lab analysis found another unidentified male’s DNA on her body.
Witness statements and cell phone data also show Gonzales and the girl’s mother, Michelle Martens, were not at the apartment when the girl was killed.
Both had been charged with murder in the girl’s death until Friday, when Martens pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death and Torrez announced the new revelations.
Court records indicate a third suspect, who is Gonzales’ cousin, still awaits trial on murder and other charges.
2:32 p.m.
The mother of a 10-year-old Albuquerque girl who was raped, strangled and dismembered has pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
Michelle Martens pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death on Friday. She faces 12 to 15 years in prison.
Authorities previously said Martens stood by while her boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, drugged and raped her daughter, Victoria. She said Gonzales’ cousin, Jessica Kelley, stabbed Victoria. Her remains were found wrapped in a blanket set on fire in an apartment bathroom by police responding to a disturbance report in August 2016.
Martens was scheduled to go on trial next month on 20 charges.
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