Victoria Martens Vigil: Thieves Target Property Of Mourners At Sunday Event Honoring Murdered 10-Year-Old [Video]


A vigil was held in Albuquerque on Sunday to honor the life of murdered 10-year-old Victoria Martens. The girl was reportedly drugged, sexually assaulted, murdered and her body desecrated by her mother, mother’s boyfriend and a cousin of the boyfriend. The three accused in the torturous assault and murder of Victoria Martens remain incarcerated in Bernalillo County Jail, each on a $1 million bond.

The case of murdered 10-year-old Victoria Martens was so shocking and horrific that it caused veteran law enforcement officers to fight back tears during press conferences. It has broken the hearts of many Albuquerque residents and brought the local community together in its grief and outrage.

“This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career. A complete disregard of human life.”

After the news of the 10-year-old girl’s death and the circumstances surrounding it, several vigils were arranged to honor Victoria Martens. The largest Victoria Martens vigil took place on Sunday, reports KOB 4. Thousands of mourners showed up for the Sunday vigil, which was also a posthumous birthday party for Martens, who was brutally killed the day after her 10th birthday — before she could celebrate it with friends and family as planned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNe-cvJ5_3M

Touted as a “heavenly birthday party,” the Sunday vigil for Victoria Martens took place to give a grieving community the opportunity to both mourn the lost little girl and honor her life and memory. While thousands gathered at Mariposa Park to pay homage to Victoria at the event organized by Erica Smith, less savory members of the Albuquerque community reportedly used the tragic death of the 10-year-old and the community’s collective grief for their own illegal gain.

The Sunday Victoria Martens vigil/birthday celebration began at 2:00 p.m., with a candlelight vigil that began at 7:30 p.m. and continued well after dark. After the beautiful and heartfelt vigil for Victoria Martens, at least one family returned to their vehicle to find the window smashed, and valuables were stolen from inside.

Mark Esquibel, who recently relocated to Albuquerque from Denver with his family, reported what happened to police and local media. According to Esquibel, he and his family wanted to show support for murdered 10-year-old Victoria Martens by coming to the vigil.

“We were kind of excited because we saw how the community got behind each other so we went ahead and went there and when we were leaving we just came to this disappointment.”

While Mark Esquibel says he was upset to find his vehicle broken into, it taught them a lesson about their new city and they would remember to be more cautious in Albuquerque in the future. Despite the life lesson learned, however, the family is shocked that anyone could be so callous as to rob people attending a memorial vigil for a 10-year-old murder victim.

“No one’s out there thinking oh my cars going to get broken into.”

Reportedly, the Esquibel family weren’t the only theft victims at the vigil held for Victoria Martens. The local media also reported that the event organizer reported that multiple vendors at the Victoria Martens vigil also had items stolen while the community gathered to mourn the horrific murder of Victoria Martens.

Despite the unconscionable thefts that allegedly took place at the Sunday vigil for Victoria Martens, the community is still rallying around the murdered 10-year-old. Another vigil was held on Tuesday, and it was different from any other vigil for Victoria Martens or any other Albuquerque vigil that has taken place in the city in recent years. As KRQU 13 reports, even after the reported thefts at the Sunday night vigil, Tuesday’s Civic Plaza vigil was extensive enough to garner the sponsorship of 15 local businesses.

Reportedly, the Tuesday vigil featured a raffle to raise money; event organizer Margie Chavez (who is part of New Mexico Angels) says that she’s not sure what will be done with the money raised, but it will go to a cause worthy of honoring the life and memory of Victoria Martens.

“I have two children at home and I would do anything for them, so I can’t understand how this could happen. The hands that were supposed to protect her were the hands that hurt her.”

Chavez is a mother herself, and she says that she wanted the community to have an opportunity to grieve. Even though most of the mourners were complete strangers to Victoria.

“Right now we’re undecided exactly where the money will go but we will be working with Chief Eden to make that final decision.”

Albuquerque community leaders have also reportedly gotten together to ensure that child killers face appropriate punishments for their crimes. In 2009, New Mexico abolished the death penalty, and since the brutal murder of Victoria Martens, over 4,000 people have signed a petition to compel the state to enact stiffer punishments for child killers.

Unfortunately for Victoria Martens and the thousands who have come out to support her at a vigil, any changes to New Mexico law will come too late to be applied to her alleged killers.

[Photo by Russell Contreras/AP Photo]

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