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Walter Javier Martinez, now 19, who is a confirmed member of MS-13 pleaded guilty to murder this week in Harford County in connection to the July 2022 murder of Kayla Hamilton, whose body was found three days after her 20th birthday.
According to the Harford County State's Attorney's Office, on July 27, 2022, both the victim's boyfriend and other family that lived in the home were at work, leaving she and Martinez alone for the first time just days after he began living at the home.
Responding police officers say they found Hamilton's purse and belongings scattered around the room, and it was determined that an undisclosed amount of cash was taken from her wallet.
Her cellphone was also missing.
"The victim's boyfriend also advised them on the way home, just prior to discovering the body, he observed Martinez walking down the street away from the residence," prosecutors said.
Investigation into Hamilton's phone later put the device in the general area where Martinez was on the fateful day.
"The victim, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism, would often call her boyfriend when someone would knock on the door of their bedroom," the state's attorney's office noted.
"During the time of the incident, the victim followed that pattern of behavior, and the murder was recorded on the boyfriend's voicemail," which was played in court.
Martinez could reportedly be heard apologizing to the victim at the end of the recording.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined her death to be a homicide by strangulation.
DNA evidence recovered at the scene linked Martinez to the crime. He was 16 years old at the time.
Following his arrest, prosecutors say that Martinez penned a letter while housed at the Harford County Detention Center, where he confessed to committing four murders, two rapes, and other crimes.
Prosecutors had asked the court to impose a life sentence with all but 70 years to serve, though due to Martinez's age at the time of the incident, they were unable to seek life without parole.
During the trial, defense lawyers reportedly gave a brief history of Martinez's life in El Salvador before illegally coming to the US by employing coyotes in March 2022, just four months before the murder.
They also confirmed he was associated with MS-13.
If he is released, Martinez will be subject to possible immigration proceedings and subsequent deportation back to El Salvador.
"This murder was one of the most brutal and heinous crime I have ever prosecuted," Harford County State's Attorney Alison Healey said in a statement. "No one deserves to suffer and die at the hands of a monster like this victim did.
"(Martinez), residing in our country illegally, had no legal right to be here, preying on the members of our communities, and perpetuating the same violent gang activity that he did in his own country.
"I recognize that no amount of time will ever be enough to take away the pain and suffering that this family has experienced as a result of Walter Martinez's horrific and criminal conduct, nor will any sentence bring this victim back to them."
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