The Murder of Victoria Martens — Talk Murder With Me

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Last Updated: November 8, 2022

Just a heads up before you read any further: this is one of the hardest cases I've ever written about. I spend a lot of time reading and writing about the horrors humans inflict on one another, but this one really shook me.

I personally do not have children, but I’m pretty sure that most parents would agree with me when I say that having kids turns your life upside down. When you bring another person into the world, everything changes. You have to make sacrifices, because you don’t come first anymore.

This is how it should be. But as we well know, this is not always the case - far from it. When a child's wellbeing and safety stops being a parent's top priority, the results can be devastating.

This is what happened in the case of 10-year-old Victoria Martens. Michelle Martens, Victoria’s mother, made terrible decisions. She failed to protect her daughter and the situation very quickly spiralled out of control. The consequences were tragic and senseless.

I've been thinking of writing about Victoria's story for a long time, but I avoided it because I wasn't sure I could cope with the heartbreak. But Victoria deserves a voice; we should know her story and not shy away because it makes us uncomfortable. Victoria was failed during her brief time on this Earth. She should not be failed again, in death, by being silenced.

Victoria Martens

Victoria was born Aug. 23, 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her mother, Michelle Martens, was originally from The Bronx, New York, and moved to Texas before settling in Albuquerque. The identity of Victoria’s biological father is not publicly known. Victoria also had a half-brother, Matthew, born in 2008. Thankfully, Matthew was with his father at the time of Victoria’s death, so he will not feature very much in this article.

In 2016, Victoria was living with her mother at the Arroyo Villas Apartment complex on Albuquerque’s West Side and attended Petroglyph Elementary School. By all accounts, she was a happy child with a bright future. She loved gymnastics, swimming and playing with her friends. Her favorite color was purple. Victoria was a sweet, fun-loving little girl who was always smiling.

Victoria and her brother Matthew (source: Facebook)

Michelle Martens

As of August 2016, 35-year-old Michelle Martens had been working her new job at the deli of Smith's Food and Drug, a subsidiary of Kroger. According to her parents, John and Pat Martens, Michelle worked hard and she loved her children. They also insisted that their daughter never drank alcohol or did drugs. Just three months earlier, in May, Michelle passed the drug test new employees were required to take to work at Smith's. Michelle did not have any criminal convictions in New Mexico.

I just want to point out here that I don’t doubt what Michelle’s parents had to say about how much she loved her kids. It's pretty clear, however, that in the month leading up to Victoria’s murder, there was a lot that John and Pat did not know about. In fact, Fabian Gonzales, Michelle’s boyfriend whom she had met a month before Victoria’s murder, told Michelle not to tell her parents about him.

It later became obvious to Pat and John that Michelle’s life had spiralled very quickly. They blamed it on the people she let stay in her home.

“Michelle didn’t change until these people inducted themselves into her life. What kind of power they had over her, I don’t know,” Laura Bobbs, Victoria’s Godmother, would say in an Oct. 2016 interview with KRQE News.

Cause For Alarm

In March 2016, five months before the murder, Michelle called the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD, also known as Child Protective Services in other states) to report that her boyfriend at the time, David Hernandez, had tried to kiss Victoria.

Hernandez had a history of sexually abusing children, including several in his own family. He had also been arrested for attempting to kidnap a 4-year-old girl in 2013. However, he had never been charged for the sexual assaults, and while he was arrested for the attempted kidnapping, the charges were dropped. It’s unclear how much Michelle knew about his past predatory behavior. In an interview with police after Victoria's murder, Michelle said she broke off the relationship with Hernandez and kicked him out of her apartment.

CYFD referred Michelle’s report to the Albuquerque Police Dept (APD), but APD did not investigate further, citing that they could not take action over an attempted kiss:

"Unfortunately, somebody attempting to do something, such as kissing the child, is not a crime,” said former-APD spokesperson Fred Duran.

After Victoria’s murder, Duran caused a scandal in the APD when he lied to journalists from the Albuquerque Journal, saying Michelle’s report was investigated. Duran claimed that officers went to meet with Victoria and Michelle at their home, which was false.

Michelle would call CYFD a total of five times in 2016 before Victoria’s murder. It was not clear what exactly she reported each time, but the number of times she called should have been a red flag. However, no action ever resulted from these reports. CYFD would later conclude that after conducting an internal review, they followed protocol and sufficiently investigated each report, and could find no proof that any abuse or neglect had occurred.

But I still feel as though they should have done something. Five calls in 8 months to an agency like CYFD, regardless of what the calls were about, should surely warrant some sort of extra attention.

Michelle’s New Boyfriend

In July 2016, Michelle met 31-year-old Fabian Gonzales on the dating website Plenty of Fish. Gonzales, who was a regular methamphetamine user, was a repeat offender in New Mexico with a long criminal record. He had been charged with assault of his former girlfriend in August 2014. In February 2015, he took a plea deal, in which he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and got two years supervised probation New Mexico Department of Corrections. His record also included a felony child abuse charge, driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest.

I could not find out what happened regarding the child abuse charge. I’m not sure if it was also a part of Gonzales’ plea deal. If so, this seems absurd to me that an assault charge and a child abuse charge could be pleaded down to two misdemeanors with hardly any punishment to speak of.

Gonzales moved into Michelle's apartment very soon after they met. By Aug. 10, he was bringing other drug addicts back to the apartment when Michelle was at work and the children were at school. He and his friends would sit around the apartment doing meth and generally wreaking havoc.

Michelle should have been far more discerning about who she let into her home, especially after what happened with David Hernandez. Not to mention, it should have set off alarm bells when Gonzales asked that she not tell her parents about him. Even though Michelle was often out when Gonzales had these drug-taking sessions at her home, she no doubt knew that Gonzales was using meth, a drug that causes dangerous and violent behavior. She never should have let him anywhere near her children.

Jessica Kelley

Fabian Gonzales' cousin, 31-year-old Jessica Kelley, had just been released from prison on Aug. 15.

Kelley had a long criminal history, having been in and out of prison for over a decade. Her previous convictions included two felony drug convictions and a charge of conspiracy to commit rape. Like Gonzales, Kelley regularly used meth.

Gonzales invited Kelley to move into Michelle's apartment. He charged her $50 for rent, an agreement Michelle was unaware of.

Jessica Kelley definitely should never have been allowed in Michelle’s apartment, especially with her children around.

August 23, 2016

I've never written about a case like this one before. It gets pretty confusing here, but I'll do my best to lay it out in a way that makes sense.

The version of what happened to Victoria on the evening of Aug. 23 given by Michelle Martens to police turned out to be false. But two years passed before this huge revelation came to light. By that time, the public's view of the case was pretty set in stone. I'm not sure many people outside of New Mexico actually know that this case was turned upside down 2 years after Victoria was murdered. I certainly did not.

Aug. 23, 2016 was Victoria's 10th birthday. John and Pat Martens described talking to Victoria on the phone that afternoon about how she and her friends had celebrated her birthday at school. It would be the last time John and Pat would speak to their granddaughter.

“The Most Gruesome Act Of Evil I Have Ever Seen”

At 4:30am on Aug. 24, police arrived at the Arroyo Villas apartment complex after receiving calls from neighboring apartments regarding a disturbance in Michelle’s apartment.

Michelle and Gonzales were outside the apartment. It appeared they had been in some sort of physical altercation; Michelle had a deep gash on her face and Gonzales had a cut above his left eye. Jessica Kelley remained inside. When the police called for her to come out, she bolted the door and jumped off the second-floor apartment's balcony, fracturing her ankle.

Fabian Gonzales’ mugshot (source: Youtube)

Michelle Martens’ mugshot (source: Youtube)

Once police apprehended the three, they entered the apartment. They were met with a truly horrifying scene. There was smoke coming from the bathroom, so they went to investigate. Laying in the bathtub was the lifeless body of Victoria Martens. She had been dismembered, partially wrapped in a sheet and set on fire.

“This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career. A complete disregard of human life and betrayal by a mother,” APD Chief Gorden Eden said in a statement on Aug. 25.

Michelle's False Confession

Michelle, Gonzales and Kelley were taken to the police station to be questioned. Gonzales was interrogated by police for 9 hours. The entire time, he insisted he did not rape or kill Victoria. Kelley refused to be interviewed without her lawyer present.

When Michelle was interviewed, however, everything changed. These are the main points that came out of Michelle’s confession (warning - some of these details are particularly upsetting):

Victoria had been injected with methamphetamine in an attempt to “calm her down” so Gonzales and Kelley could rape her.
Michelle watched while Gonzales and Kelley raped, strangled, stabbed and dismembered Victoria.
Michelle had previously sought out men on the internet to come to her home and have sex with Victoria so she could watch.

Michelle confessed to committing some of the most heinous acts imaginable against her own daughter, along with Gonzales and Kelley. Everybody, including detectives, believed her. What resulted was a media circus and a (rightly) enraged public.

On Sept. 8, 2016, Michelle, Gonzales and Kelley were indicted on multiple charges, including but not limited to: intentional abuse of a child, aggravated criminal sexual penetration, murder and tampering with evidence. Michelle’s bond was set at $1.5 million cash and Gonzales and Kelley’s was set at $1 million each.

However, building a case against Michelle and Gonzales based on Michelle’s confession was proving extremely difficult. This was because other evidence, including DNA samples, information from Victoria’s autopsy report and phone records, pointed in a very different direction.

What Really Happened?

On Jun. 29, 2018, nearly two years after Victoria’s murder, District Attorney Raúl Torrez, who took office in Jan. 2017, gave a press conference in which he made several astonishing announcements which would completely turn this case upside down. His office came to these conclusions after a year and a half of analyzing DNA evidence, cell phone data and conducting numerous interviews with independent eye witnesses.

District Attorney Raul Torrez (source: Youtube)

The revelations were:

Victoria was killed between 7pm and 8:45pm, when Michelle Martens and Fabian Gonzales were at a house in the South Valley, meaning they were not at Michelle’s apartment when Victoria was murdered.
DNA was found on Victoria’s body that implicates a fourth, unknown man.

“I recognize that these revelations are not consistent with the public’s perception of what happened to Victoria Martens. But I want to share this information with you to help the community understand where this case is going and ultimately assist in the apprehension of everyone involved in this horrific crime,” Torrez said.

This is what is believed to have really happened to Victoria on Aug. 23. I am going to add in a few bits from other news sources, but the main source of this timeline is the District Attorney’s Office. My additions are in italicized:

11:40 a.m. Gonzales and Michelle go to someone’s house to buy drugs. Victoria is at school. This person told them that Jessica Kelley should not be in Michelle’s apartment because she was “acting weird” (I’m assuming she was high on meth).

2:30 p.m. Gonzales and Michelle go back to Michelle’s apartment, but then leave again.

2:36 p.m. Michelle texted her mom, asking if she can pick up Victoria from the bus stop after school.

2:37 p.m. Michelle’s mom calls her, but Michelle ignores the call. Gonzales convinces Michelle to ask Jessica Kelley to pick Victoria up from the bus stop. Michelle is unsure but Gonzales tells her it’s fine, it’s safe to leave Victoria with Jessica (sorry, this is insane.)

2:39 p.m. Michelle texts her mom, saying she had it figured out.

3:00 p.m. Michelle and Gonzales go to somebody’s home.

3:37 p.m. Michelle texts Kelley, asking her to pick Victoria up from the bus stop.

4:08 p.m. Michelle texts Kelley again, but never gets a reply.

4:35 p.m. Victoria is dropped off by the school bus.

4:45 p.m. Victoria goes home (I’m not sure if she walked home alone or if Kelley did meet her at the bus stop)

5:07 p.m. Michelle and Gonzales are at the apartment

6:05 p.m. Victoria goes to the gas station with Gonzales

6:09 p.m. Kelley has a phone call with her sister, telling her she is “tweaking” and hallucinating. (Tweaking means “become or cause to become agitated or excited, typically from taking amphetamines or another stimulant.”)

6:15 p.m. Victoria and Gonzales return to the apartment

6:30 p.m. Michelle and Gonzales go to Paradise Hills

7:02 p.m. Michelle and Gonzales return to the apartment

7:05 p.m. Neighbors see Victoria alive.

7:06 p.m. Michelle and Gonzales leave home. Kelley and Victoria have a conversation with two neighbors.

7:38-7:59 p.m. Michelle and Gonzales are in the South Valley

8:47 p.m. Michelle and Gonzales return to the apartment. They sit in the car and listen to music.

8:48 p.m. Victoria’s lifeless body is seen outside the apartment. She is being carried by Kelley down the stairs, wrapped in a blanket. Kelley then goes back up the stairs with Victoria’s body when she sees Michelle and Gonzales have arrived. Michelle and Gonzales walk up the stairs and enter the apartment a short time after.

Kelley tells Gonzales that Victoria is dead. Michelle is not included in the conversation. They discuss concealing the murder, cleaning up the crime scene and burying the body.

Gonzales distracts Michelle, telling her to make dinner and then “puts her to bed”.

This part is extremely upsetting so please skip over it if you need to.

Gonzales and Kelley removed Victoria’s arms with a knife. Gonzales removed some of her organs. They then placed the remains in a trash bag and cleaned up the blood as well as they could. They then put Victoria’s remains in the bathtub. Michelle was in bed for the duration of Gonzales’ and Kelley’s assault on Victoria’s remains.

Gonzales is in bed with Michelle. Kelley comes in and attacks them both with an iron, hence the wounds on their faces in their mugshots.

Sometime between 1 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. when the police arrived, Kelley removed the smoke detectors in the apartment. Shortly before the police arrive, Gonzales and Michelle leave the apartment. Kelley remains inside and sets fire to Victoria’s body in the bathtub.

August 24 at 4:30 a.m. Police arrive, call for Kelley to come out of the apartment, she locks the door and jumps off the balcony, fracturing her ankle. All three are apprehended. Police enter the apartment and find Victoria’s charred and dismembered remains.

Arroyo Villas Apartment complex, where Victoria’s murder took place (source: Youtube)

Findings From Victoria’s Autopsy

Victoria’s cause of death was manual strangulation. Compression to the neck impaired blood flow to the brain, leading to loss of consciousness and death.

I don’t want to go into this too deeply, but a number of Victoria’s body parts were removed.

Further refuting Michelle's confession, Victoria's autopsy did not show any presence of methamphetamine. A low level of ethanol was discovered, but this was attributed to having formed during decomposition.

It was initially believed that Victoria was raped, but after re-examining the initial autopsy report, experts determined in January 2019 that Victoria had not been raped the night she was killed.

"In totality these three experts that I'm talking about have over 100 years (of experience)…they determined that no sexual assault took place. Despite that, early on, the autopsy report in this case indicated that there was sexual assault," said Mark Earnest, Jessica Kelley’s attorney.

Tragically, the autopsy did show that she had an STD. Torrez explained that this was a result of a sexual assault committed against Victoria that Michelle had reported in the weeks or months before the murder:

“She took immediate steps to identify and notify the relevant law enforcement officials and as far as we know severed contact with that person,” Torrez said.

But if she did report it...why was nothing done to protect Victoria? I could not find any mention of any agency proactively investigating Michelle’s report that her daughter had been raped.

Contrary to Michelle's confession, Torrez also said that there was no evidence that Michelle ever trafficked Victoria for sex.

Gonzales' DNA was not discovered on Victoria's body, but rather, the previously mentioned unknown man's.

Expert Insight Into Michelle’s Confession

When the interview with Michelle took place right after Victoria's murder, police did not have a psychological profile for her, therefore they assumed they could take what she was saying at face-value.

Looking over Michelle’s confession transcript, Torrez noticed that many of the statements she made were contradictory, and she often answered questions with “mhmm” or “uh-huh”, as though she was not absolutely sure of what she was saying. It indicated she was being fed information and just agreeing with statements, rather than coming up with the facts herself.

The District Attorney’s Office sought out the advice of forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner to analyze what Michelle said during her police interview, as well as interview people who know her, to get a better idea of the type of person she is.

Welner came to the conclusion that Michelle is a very vulnerable person. People who know her described her as a “people pleaser”, which to me explains why she allowed Gonzales and Kelley to stay in her home and pretty much do whatever they wanted. Michelle’s lawyer also highlighted that she has a “lower than normal” IQ.

According to Welner, the officers interviewing Michelle presented themselves as being “on her side”. Mixed with her naivety and Victoria’s death, this led to Michelle admitting to having witnessed the crime, without realizing she was incriminating herself.

In the course of questioning her about specifics and going over details, the officers in the questioning revealed certain details within the case that Michelle later incorporated into her story. Incorporating them into her story gave the impression of some legitimacy of what she was saying.
- Forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner

From studying Michelle’s interview, Welner concluded that: “specific details were entirely accounted for by what she learned in the interrogation itself opposed to what she knew going in.”

Actions Taken As A Result

Michelle Martens

After the revelations came out that Michelle’s confession was false and she was not at the apartment when Victoria was killed, the murder charges against her were dropped. On June 29, 2018, Michelle accepted a plea bargain, pleading guilty to one count of reckless child abuse resulting in death. She faces 12 to 15 years in prison.

Michelle is due to be sentenced on November 10, 2022.

“While Martens was not home during the time of her daughter’s death, she did have ample warning that her daughter was in danger,” said prosecutor Greer Rose, referring to the fact Kelley was high on meth and had only just been out of prison for a week.

Torrez added that Michelle is not innocent, but she is not a murderer:

“She did contribute to a situation that allowed her daughter to be killed, and she needs to be held accountable for that,” he said.

Jessica Kelley

On Jan. 7, 2019, Kelley accepted a plea deal. It was something Torrez initially hoped to avoid, but came to the decision in the hopes that it would strengthen his case against Gonzales, as well as help track down John Doe, who is believed to have actually killed Victoria.

On Jan. 4, 2019, the rape charges against Kelley were dropped.

Kelley pleaded no contest (meaning she accepts the conviction but does not plead or admit guilt) to six charges, including child abuse resulting in death, great bodily harm, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence. She could serve up to 50 years in prison as a result of this plea.

As part of her plea agreement, she has agreed to testify against Gonzales (her cousin), and in the State vs. John Doe case.

In April 2022, Kelley was sentenced to 44 years in prison.

Fabian Gonzales

Unlike Michelle and Kelley, Gonzales has not accepted a plea deal and will go to trial.

As with Michelle, the District Attorney’s Office dropped murder and rape charges against Gonzales in the fall of 2018. He is charged with reckless child abuse resulting in death and eight counts of tampering with evidence.

Now, I’m pretty shocked by this, but Gonzales was released from jail in November 2019, after three years and two months. I believe he is currently under house arrest while he awaits his trial.

Deputy District Attorney pointed to Gonzales’ criminal record (remember, it includes a felony child abuse charge and assault charge, before Victoria’s murder) as reason to keep him locked up. She also referenced Gonzales’ tendency to skip court dates, and previous incidents in which he violated court-ordered conditions of release.

Judge Brown ruled that Gonzales could be released, denying Rose’s request. He cited the fact that Gonzales was no longer facing the heinous charges he once was. He said that the state had not convincingly shown that Gonzales poses a danger to the community.

Prosecutors immediately filed an appeal to the judge’s decision, which looks to have been unsuccessful. Prosecutors are demanding that a judge make arrangements for Gonzales’ trial, which does not yet have a set date.

I've got to say, releasing Gonzales seems completely insane to me and just asking for trouble. The man was known to be deceptive and manipulative with Michelle, convincing her it would be fine to leave her daughter with Jessica Kelley, who he knew was dangerous. Then he helped Kelley in her plan to cover up the murder and conceal Victoria's remains, by cutting up her body. In my opinion, it takes a certain type of person who is able to cut up a body, especially that of a ten year old girl. That type of person, in my view, is dangerous and likely does not feel remorse or guilt as most people do. Maybe it's me, but he should be kept behind bars for as long as possible.

** February 24, 2022 Update **

Gonzales’ trial was due to start at the beginning of January 2022, but has been delayed until summer due to COVID-19.

In December 2021, Judge Cindy Leos decided that when the trial begins, jurors will be allowed to see photos of Victoria’s remains which were taken by the Office of the Medical Investigator. Prosecutors have about 60 of these photos. The photos “are of contents of bag containing Victoria’s dismembered arms, her heart and other organs, in addition to deep cuts, burns and other injuries on her body.” Here is a link to the article about this new development.

Deputy DA Greer Rose said the photos are “highly relevant” because the tampering charges against Gonzales allege that he dismembered Victoria’s arms and removed her organs.

Gonzales’ attorney, Stephen Aarons, argued that showing the photos at Gonzales’ trial would prejudice the jury against him, as the photos would upset any normal human being.

“This is going to be tough for the jury to see,” Judge Leos said of the photos. “I recognize that it is going to be difficult for the jury, but it is relevant. The state will still have to prove that tampering took place.”

Gonzales Is Tried and Sentenced

On August 1, 2022, after a two and a half week trial, a jury found Fabian Gonzales guilty on all counts, including child abuse resulting in death, seven counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy for his role in Victoria’s killing. You can find a recap of the trial here.

On October 27, 2022, Gonzales was sentenced to 37.5 years in prison.

Judge Cindy Leos agreed with prosecutors that although he wasn’t in the apartment when Victoria was murdered, Gonzales held direct responsibility for creating the dangerous environment that led to her death.

He left Victoria alone with Kelley the day of her death, even though he was aware that Kelley was using methamphetamine and was clearly paranoid, the judge said at Gonzales’ sentencing hearing.

She added: “He was aware of Jessica Kelly’s propensity for violence, as well as her paranoia, on the date that Victoria was ultimately murdered. I do not believe that his responsibility in Victoria’s death was remote.”

“If it were not for Mr. Gonzales, there is no question in my mind that Victoria Martens would still be alive”

— Judge Cindy Leos

Gonzales, who is 38 at the time of my writing this, will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence if he qualifies for good-time credit (aka he will get time off his sentence for good behavior.)

Prosecutors asked that Judge Leos have Gonzales designated as a serious violent offender, which would mean he would have to serve at least 85% of his 18-year sentence for the charge of child abuse resulting in death. However, due to the fact Gonzales was not in the apartment at the time of Victoria’s murder, Leos did not agree to this request from prosecutors.

John Doe

Torrez’s office has filed a fourth indictment, charging a John Doe with Victoria’s murder. It is highly likely that Kelley knows who this individual is.

This is an account given by Kelley (so we really do not know how trustworthy it is):

In Sept. 2018, before Kelley was offered a plea deal, she told the judge that the night Victoria was killed, a man came to the door asking for “Favo”, which is Gonzales’ street name. According to Kelley, she told him Gonzales was not there, just her and Victoria. The man came into the apartment and killed Victoria as revenge for something drug/gang-related.

The man said to Kelley that Gonzales "messed up and knows what he did."

Torrez has said that the DNA belonging to John Doe, which was found on Victoria’s back, likely came from skin, sweat or saliva cells. It cannot be compared to samples in the federal Combined DNA Index System. Therefore swabs need to be collected from each person of interest in order to rule him out as a suspect.

The hunt for John Doe is currently ongoing.

John and Pat Martens’ Lawsuit

In Sept. 2017, John and Pat Martens, Victoria’s grandparents, filed a lawsuit against the city of Albuquerque for not investigating the claims made by Michelle that her boyfriend tried to kiss Victoria, therefore failing to protect their granddaughter.

The Martens’ attorney, Jason Bowles, would say:

“An adult man kissing a young girl and that’s dismissed as not as important to investigate, that’s shocking. But if you go further and know what they knew in their own files, they could have connected — this guy’s a pedophile.”

He went on to argue that if police had bothered looking into this boyfriend, they would have found that he had been arrested in 2013 for attempted kidnapping.

In February 2021, the lawsuit was dismissed by a District Court judge. It was filed months before June 2018, when many of the revelations came out of the DA’s Office about how so much of what was considered truth in the investigation turned out to be false, as a result of Michelle’s fase confession.

Bowles says they plan to appeal the dismissal of the lawsuit.

My Conclusions

This case was really difficult to cover, mainly because of the horrific nature of the murder but also the complex twists and turns the investigation took as a result of Michelle’s false confession.

But the basic facts of this case are not complicated. At the end of the day, a little girl went through something no child should ever go through. She was failed by everybody who should have been there to protect her.

I realize it’s essential that those involved in Victoria’s death face appropriate charges. It’s vital that the person who murdered Victoria be brought to justice. But Victoria’s death was avoidable, and while those responsible must be prosecuted, the conditions that led to Victoria’s horrific murder must also be examined and acted upon.

CYFD claimed that they followed protocol and sufficiently investigated each of Michelle Martens’ reports. But if this is true, and what happened to Victoria still happened, then it seems reasonable to say that CYFD is in dire need of reform.

“New Mexico’s rate of child maltreatment – such as abuse and neglect – has been far higher than the national average in each of the past five years for which data are available, according to a report by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”
In 2017, the state’s rate of maltreatment climbed to 17.6 victims per 1,000 children, or nearly twice the national average of 9.1.”
- Albuquerque Journal, “NM struggles with child neglect, abuse” (published April 2019)

Statistics like this point to a problem with child abuse that extends far beyond Victoria’s murder. In other words, Victoria’s case was by no means a one-off.

Remembering Victoria

On Oct. 29, 2016, a memorial service was held at Copper Pointe Church. More than 600 people attended the service in support of Victoria and her loved ones. Many people wore purple, Victoria’s favorite color.

The former governor of New Mexico, Susana Martinez, and APD Chief Gorden Eden spoke, saying that the state must learn from what happened to her:

“Let us strengthen our resolve to look out for each other, to take care of each other, watch out for those who cannot take care of themselves,” said Chief Eden.

Each year on Victoria’s birthday (also, heartbreakingly, the day she died) a memorial has taken place. In 2016, it was held on August 29. The crowd released dozens of balloons and blew bubbles into the sky. After the sun went down, attendees sang Happy Birthday.