Philomath, OR: Philomath man arraigned in slaying of woman, son

Corvallis Gazette-Times | Posted: Tuesday, May 3, 2011 12:36 am | (3) Comments

Gustavo David Martinez-Aquepucho, appearing by video, is arraigned Monday for the slaying of his girlfriend and his son, and is denied bail by Circuit Judge Janet Holcomb. At the proceedings are Deputy District Attorney Mark Flinn, left, and Martinez-Aquepucho’s court-appointed attorneys Daniel Koenig and Mark Sabitt. (SCOBEL WIGGINS | Corvallis Gazette-Times)

OSU international student from Peru faces three counts of aggravated murder
Gustavo David Martinez-Aquepucho, 20, of Philomath, was arraigned Monday on charges that he killed his former girlfriend and their son.
Martinez is charged with three counts of aggravated murder for the stabbing deaths of Kelsey Rozetta Baker, 19, and their son, 1-year-old Theo Martinez. Baker and her child were killed Friday at a residence where the three had lived together, 24882 Evergreen Road near Philomath.
Martinez appeared for his court arraignment Monday afternoon via a closed-circuit TV feed from the Benton County jail, where he has been held since Saturday night.
Judge Janet Holcomb entered a not guilty plea for Martinez and denied bail. Those charged with aggravated murder can be held without bail.
Martinez’s court-appointed attorneys, Mark Sabitt and Daniel Koenig, requested that the case be presented to a grand jury within 30 days. No judge yet has been assigned, and no court dates have yet been scheduled.
Martinez remained Monday night in the jail.
Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson explained the reasoning behind the three aggravated murder charges. Aggravated murder cases require the presence of one of a number of aggravating factors that are spelled out in state law.
In this case, two of the counts claim that the aggravating factor is that Martinez committed a second murder “in the course of the same criminal episode” that claimed the first victim.
So, count one charges that Martinez killed Baker and, in the course of the same criminal episode, killed his son.
Count two charges that Martinez killed Theo and, in the same criminal episode, killed Baker.
Count three lists a different aggravating factor: It charges that Martinez killed Theo, “a human being under the age of 14 years.”
A defendant convicted on a charge of aggravated murder could be sentenced to death, but Haroldson has not said whether he will seek the death penalty in this case.
Documents filed in connection with the case Monday charged that Martinez decided to kill Baker and the toddler after Baker told him that she would not reconcile with him. An affidavit filed in the case alleged that Martinez then planned to kill himself so the family could be together in the afterlife. (See the related story.)
The events unfolded Friday night in the Evergreen Road house owned by Russell Anderson and Ann Marchant, where Martinez, Baker and their son were living.
An email Anderson sent to the Gazette-Times on Sunday said that Martinez first moved into their house in 2007, when he was an exchange student from Peru attending Philomath High School. He and Baker became romantically involved in high school. Martinez graduated in 2008; Baker in 2009. They later dated on and off while students at Oregon State University, where Martinez majored in nutrition with plans to open his own restaurant. Baker majored in public health.
The on-again-off-again relationship solidified with the birth of the baby in April 2010, but had soured by March of this year, when Baker said she wanted out and moved with the baby into another room at the Anderson-Marchant house.