Bio

David Martinez was born on May 9, 1972, in Hidalgo County, Texas. His father was not involved in his life. He passed away when David was young, which deeply affected him. His mother had mental health problems and often struggled to care for him and his siblings.

At the age of 13, he was arrested for stealing. Over the next few years, he was involved in more criminal activities, including burglaries. By age 16, he was placed on juvenile probation after committing several burglaries.

In the late 1980s, David was sent to the Texas Youth Commission for his offenses. While there, he had difficulty following rules and got into fights. He eventually completed his time there in 1990. After his release, he struggled to maintain stability in his life. He had very little education, achieving only a General Educational Development (GED) diploma.

In the early 1990s, David was involved in an attempted sexual assault and received a probated sentence. He was supposed to report regularly to his parole officer but often failed to do so. His pattern of skipping meetings and failing to adhere to his parole conditions led to more trouble with the law.

In the summer of 1994, David began living with a woman named Carolina Prado, her daughter Belinda, and her son Erik in San Antonio, Texas. He had known Carolina for a couple of months, and she had taken him into her home. David's life continued to be tumultuous as he struggled with his past and continued to face difficulties in conforming to societal norms.

Murder Story

David Martinez lived with his girlfriend Carolina Prado and her two children, 14-year-old Erik and 10-year-old Belinda. On the night of July 10, 1994, Carolina and her children went to bed. Martinez returned home late that night. He attacked Carolina in her bedroom first, striking her with a baseball bat until she was dead. Then he moved to the living room, where Erik was sleeping on a mattress. Belinda woke up to the sounds of the beating and saw her brother being hit by Martinez.

Belinda was terrified. She tried to persuade Martinez to stop, but he threatened her as well. He then tied her hands with a belt and left her in Erik's bedroom. Martinez wrote a note and handed it to Belinda, instructing her to take it to her grandmother. After he left, she managed to free herself and ran to her grandmother’s house nearby.

When they arrived back at the Prado home, Belinda's grandmother found Erik's body first, then discovered Carolina’s body in the bedroom. Both victims had severe head injuries. A baseball bat was found at the scene, covered in blood.

Two days later, on July 13, police arrested Martinez at his grandmother's house. He originally gave a false name to the police. While being taken to jail, he made a boastful comment about the killings, saying he had "killed them like cockroaches." Later, he confessed to the murders, blaming heavy drinking that night, which included a twelve-pack of beer and a bottle of rum.

Martinez was charged with capital murder for both homicides. He was found guilty in October 1995 and sentenced to death. After years of appeals and legal processes, he was executed by lethal injection on February 4, 2009. His final words expressed sorrow for the pain he had caused and a wish for peace for the victims' families.