A man from northern Arizona has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of his 6-year-old son, who died of starvation in 2020. The Coconino County court sentenced Anthony Martinez, 28, to life in prison for the murder, along with additional prison terms for child abuse and kidnapping related to the mistreatment of the deceased child and his older sibling.
Martinez also received a combined three-year prison sentence for two counts of aggravated assault, which can be served concurrently or credited against time already served.
During the court proceedings, Martinez chose not to speak but had a letter read aloud by his defense attorney in which he apologized to his children for the suffering he caused. His legal representative did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Presiding Judge Ted Reed highlighted the severity and cruelty of the crimes, emphasizing that Martinez was in a position of trust as the children’s father. He also noted that Martinez had a traumatic childhood and no prior felony convictions.
The tragic case revealed that Deshaun Martinez, the boy who died, had been confined to a small bedroom closet for 16 hours daily over a month as punishment for stealing food at night. An autopsy showed the boy weighed only 18 pounds (8.1 kilograms) at the time of his death, significantly underweight for his age. His death was ruled a homicide.
The boy’s mother, Elizabeth Archibeque, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in July 2023.
