Posted on 01/19/2007 9:40:42 AM PST by happygrl
Almost a decade after the abduction, molestation and slaying of 10-year-old Anthony Martinez, Riverside County prosecutors Thursday filed murder charges against the Beaumont boy's suspected killer.
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Anthony Martinez was killed in 1997. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Joseph E. Duncan III and try to immediately extradite him from Idaho, where in October he pleaded guilty to murdering three people, District Attorney Rod Pacheco said at a news conference outside the county courthouse in Indio.
Yet Pacheco acknowledged that it could be years before Duncan, 43, is tried for Martinez's death, because federal prosecutors are preparing for trial in Idaho. Hours after charges were filed against Duncan in Indio, the U.S. attorney's office in Idaho announced a 10-count federal indictment against Duncan in connection with the kidnapping of two Idaho children and the slaying of one.
Anthony was kidnapped while playing with other children outside his Beaumont home in April 1997. The abductor drove up, asked for help finding a lost cat and then pulled out a switchblade, putting it to Anthony's head. Fifteen days later, Anthony's nude, bound body was found buried under rocks in a remote arroyo north of Indio.
Riverside County prosecutors charged Duncan with first-degree murder with special circumstances, which include kidnapping, torture and child molestation. The charge also cites Duncan's Idaho convictions and a 1980 conviction in Washington state for raping a 14-year-old boy.
Anthony's mother, Diana Gonzales, said at the news conference that she and her family support whatever action the district attorney's office takes against Duncan, "provided that Joseph Duncan never sees the light of day again, whether that be through death or incarceration for the remainder of his life -- either way, that he no longer be able to harm anyone again."
"We believe justice will prevail, whether it be through the courts or whether it be through the eyes of God," Gonzales added as she stood near Anthony's stepfather, Ernesto Medina, and Anthony's brother, Marcos Medina.
Death Penalty Sought
Anthony's killing galvanized Beaumont. Thousands turned out for his April 1997 funeral, with some shops closing for the day.
For years, frustrated investigators struggled through thousands of tips that led nowhere until Duncan was linked to Anthony's slaying after his 2005 arrest in connection with the Idaho case.
Duncan's partial thumbprint was found on duct tape used to bind Anthony's arms and legs, authorities said. Pacheco and Sheriff Bob Doyle declined Thursday to discuss other possible evidence against Duncan.
A plea agreement that Idaho prosecutors reached with Duncan called for him to cooperate with state and federal authorities, including to provide information to unlock coded files on his computer that could contain evidence.
Pacheco said there would be no plea agreement in Riverside County.
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Silvia Flores / The Press-Enterprise "There's only one result we'll be satisfied with, and that's the death penalty," he said. "There won't be any discussions about it. There won't be any negotiations about it. There's nothing to talk about."
Pacheco said he would, if necessary, ask Gov. Schwarzenegger to ask Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to facilitate Duncan's extradition to California.
"The family of Anthony Martinez -- his mother, his father, his family -- have waited long enough for justice for this unspeakable murder," he said.
In the Idaho case, Duncan bludgeoned to death a woman, her fiancé and her 13-year-old son, authorities say, so he could kidnap the woman's 8-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son to sexually molest. The boy, Dylan Groene, was later found dead at a Montana campsite.
The girl, Shasta Groene, was rescued seven weeks later when a waitress at an Idaho restaurant recognized the child with Duncan, called police, and stalled Duncan until authorities could arrive.
At the news conference, Doyle thanked waitress Amber Deahn, saying that "without her doing what she did, we may to this day not even know about Mr. Duncan."
Duncan was prosecuted in Idaho only for the murder of the two adults and the 13-year-old boy. The federal grand-jury indictment announced in Idaho on Thursday charges him with kidnapping and sexual assaulting Dylan and Shasta, and with torturing and murdering Dylan. Duncan is expected to appear in federal court in Boise, Idaho, within the next few days to enter pleas.
Federal prosecutors want Duncan to be tried on the federal charges in Idaho before he is extradited, said Jean McNeil, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Idaho.
Under Duncan's plea deal with Idaho state prosecutors, he is to be sentenced to three consecutive life terms without parole in an Idaho prison, but authorities in Idaho have reserved the right to also seek the death penalty, pending the outcome of the federal case.
A Community Changed
Jan Leja, who was mayor of Beaumont at the time of the Anthony Martinez killing, said Duncan deserves execution if convicted.
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"The circumstances that he put Anthony through, and his family and the community, and of the outcome of that horrific experience for that boy, should warrant that the consequences be the most severe," she said.
For Leja and other people who lived in Beaumont a decade ago, Thursday's announcement triggered memories of how the kidnapping changed the community.
"We used to think we were the sleepiest little town, that we were safe," said Kathy Witt, who lived six blocks from Anthony's home.
Witt said she won't let her 8-year-old grandson pedal his bicycle out of her sight.
"You don't even leave them out in the backyard for 5 minutes without checking them," she said.
David Calstado, a Beaumont business owner, said the kidnapping "made many parents aware of just how vulnerable children can be no matter where they live."
Calstado was part of a community contingent that hand-delivered a banner and messages from the community to Deahn, the Idaho waitress.
Beaumont residents banded together from the beginning to help find Anthony, and later to help apprehend his killer. They baked food for authorities and search crews and offered to help the Martinez family with transportation and other needs. Area copy businesses made fliers for free. Billboards featuring a composite of the suspect in Anthony's death appeared on Interstate 10.
20,000 Leads
The investigation of Anthony's slaying involved more than 20,000 leads and help from almost all law-enforcement agencies in Riverside County, said retired Beaumont police Lt. Mitch White, who led the investigation.
"It's a good feeling," White said in Indio after Thursday's news conference. "It will be a much better feeling when we stand here and announce he's been convicted and sentenced."
Duncan was on the run in 1997 after violating parole in Washington state.
Authorities have described him as a "sexual psychopath" who smooth-talked people on the outside into helping him with places to live, money and other assistance. He told therapists at a Washington state mental hospital that he had raped more than a dozen children.
Duncan was paroled in 1994 and vanished in March 1997. He was arrested about five months later in Missouri and served another three years in prison.
Duncan was a fugitive charged with child molestation in Minnesota at the time of the Idaho slayings in May 2005.
Our instincts were correct.
"He told therapists at a Washington state mental hospital that he had raped more than a dozen children."
Where do these guys come from? Do they ever vote? If so, what political party do you think they support?
There are many states where convicted felons cannot vote, but that's immaterial. This guy is not worth the air he breathes. My sympathies for all the families and loved ones of his victims.
Remember now: When he's about to fry, everyone run out and tell "To hell with his victims!!" No death penalty! Will ya feel better then?
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