Cause of death determined in "unspeakable" slaying of N.M. girl, 10

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Medical investigators say strangulation was the cause of death of an Albuquerque girl whose dismembered remains were found wrapped in a smoldering blanket in her family’s apartment.

Autopsy results made public late Monday detail the slaying of Victoria Martens on her 10th birthday last August. The crime, described by authorities at the time as horrific and heartbreaking, sent shockwaves through New Mexico.

The results show the girl had suffered previous sexual abuse before she was raped and murdered. Efforts to dismember her body followed after she died. Her spine was fractured and she suffered both blunt and sharp injuries, with one slash exposing her organs. Some of her organs were removed.

Police suspect the girl’s mother, Michelle Martens, of watching as her boyfriend Fabian Gonzales raped and strangled her daughter. Gonzales and his cousin, Jessica Kelley, are accused of dismembering the girl, according to court documents. 

All three have pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges and remain in custody pending trial in October.

Police say the girl’s mother told investigators after her arrest that the other suspects drugged and assaulted the victim as she watched. She allegedly told police she looked for men online and at work to sexually assault her daughter, according to search warrants in the case.

Martens told investigators that one of the men she solicited was a co-worker. Two others she met online, including Gonzales, 31. He was to be the last.

It’s unclear whether investigators have identified the two other men, reports the Albuquerque Journal. No other arrests have been made.

Michelle Martens also reportedly claimed her daughter died from consuming methamphetamine, but toxicology reports showed she had been given alcohol, not methamphetamine.

“In an alcohol naïve person, this level of alcohol could cause cognitive and physical impairment,” the report says, according to the paper.

Police are reviewing the findings from the autopsy and toxicology tests.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said in a statement in August the abuse and killing of the girl “is unspeakable and justice should come down like a hammer.”