James David Martin

Little is known about Martin's early life. According to the detectives who interviewed him, when he was about six years old, his mother beat his little sister to death. Following this event, James was sent to live in Fort Meade, Maryland, where he attended the Meade Senior High School.[2] While a student there, he was on the basketball team, where he got acquainted with 15-year-old Michael Eugene Thomas, who would later become his first victim.

At age 17, Martin was envious that his fellow basketball buddy Thomas had recently bought himself an expensive pair of Air Jordans worth $115.50. On May 2, 1989, James lured Michael into the woods near the school, where he proceeded to sodomize and then strangle him to death. After killing him, he stole the Air Jordans and fled the scene. Not long after, however, he was arrested for the murder, charged with first-degree murder and convicted. The senseless crime for the shoes, which ironically didn't even fit Martin,[3] were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, with professional basketball player Michael Jordan himself expressing his horror at the brutality of the crime.[4] Martin served seven years in prison, before being released in 1996 and moving back to New York City to live with his mother.

On February 23, 1998, while walking around the Bronx, Martin came across 14-year-old Marleny Cruz, a Dominican-born adoptee who often went on visits to an aunt in the area. Taking an interest in the beautiful young girl, James asked her out on a date to his mother's apartment, to which she agreed. At some point, however, the pair began arguing, with Martin proceeding to grab her by the throat, beating, sexually abusing and finally, strangling Cruz to death.[2] He then dumped her body on a curb in University Heights,[1] where she was later found by passers-by. Initially, she couldn't be identified, and it was even presumed that she could've been Chante Smalls, a girl who had recently gone missing, but it was later determined not to be the case, as Smalls was later found alive.[2] Eight months later, through dental records, the body was identified as that of Cruz, but her killer remained elusive. Some detectives theorized that her death might've been related to a series of rapes that occurred in the Bronx at the time, but no conclusive connection was made to any such case.[3]

Five months after the Cruz murder, Martin was arrested for groping a junkie and possession of crack cocaine. He was jailed for a year and then released. Not long after, he lured a 17-year-old male relative on a rooftop in the Bronx, where he attempted to strangle the boy with the laces from his sweatpants. The relative lapsed into unconsciousness, with Martin stabbing him in the neck with a knife, stealing $30 and then fleeing. Miraculously, the boy survived his injuries and managed to reach a hospital. When he was visited by his family, he pleaded with them not to let James in, as he was sure he would "finish [him] off." At that moment, James walked in, and although he was arrested on the spot, he was allowed to plead guilty to attempted robbery and sentenced to five years imprisonment.[2]

While in prison, he communicated with 30-year-old Cicela Santiago, who would become his girlfriend and later, his wife. After his release, the couple moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where, three months later, he strangled Cicela to death after she threatened to leave him. Martin dumped her body in a parking lot trash bin near the mall, where she was soon found.[2]

Martin was swiftly arrested following the discovery of his wife's body, pleading guilty and receiving a sentence of 22-to-44 years imprisonment, which he would serve at the State Correctional Institution – Somerset prison. While serving his sentence there, his DNA was matched to that of an unidentified male's found underneath the fingernails of Marleny Cruz, and detectives from the Bronx were dispatched to question him. He freely admitted his guilt in the murder, and extradited back to New York City to stand trial on charges of murder, rape and sodomy.[2] On October 28, 2016, James David Martin plead guilty to her murder, and received an additional 20 years imprisonment, to be served on top of his previous sentence.[1]

• Ronald M. Holmes and Stephen T. Holmes (June 23, 2010). Fatal Violence: Case Studies and Analysis of Emerging Forms. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439826881.
• Danielle Sarver Coombs and Bob Batchelor (2013). American History Through American Sports: From Colonial Lacrosse to Extreme Sports, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313379888.
• David A. Aaker and Alexander L. Biel (October 31, 2013). Brand Equity & Advertising: Advertising's Role in Building Strong Brands. Psychology Press. ISBN 9781317759836.
• Nicholas Smith (May 1, 2018). Kicks: The Great American Story of Sneakers. Crown. ISBN 9780451498137.
• Michael Jacobson (March 11, 2019). Marketing Madness: A Survival Guide For A Consumer Society. Routledge. ISBN 9780429720260.