Attempt to dispose of body by mutilation and disarticulation

On February 21, 1997, at approximately 4:09 p.m., the Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Department took a missing person’s report on a 66-year-old woman named Rose. She was the grandmother of 26 and a great-grandmother of five. She had never remarried and had lived in Westmoreland, Kansas, for 25 years. Rose kept herself busy with the grandchildren and had a part-time job as a waitress at the Leisure Lounge in Westmoreland. The last time Rose was seen was when she left the lounge after work at approximately 12:30 a.m. to go home.

A neighbor became concerned when noticing that Rose’s vehicle was still parked at her residence at 3 p.m. The neighbor knew that Rose would normally be at work. The neighbor contacted Rose’s daughter who went to her mother’s residence to check on her well-being and noticed “that things were not quite normal.” The reporting witness told the deputy that her mother’s blinds were not pulled up throughout the residence. She added that the bedroom and bed appeared as if they hadn’t been used and there was no indication that the mother had made her traditional morning coffee or daily iced tea. The daughter also noticed that her mother’s purse and car keys were missing. The deputy entered the premises and noticed a red stain on the bottom portion of the back door. He also noticed a piece of bone or tooth on a concrete pad just outside the back door. He notified detectives to respond to the scene.

Rose was considered to be friendly, happy, and helpful toward her friends and neighbors. However, she was not trusting. She maintained a continued fear of burglary to her home. The daughter further advised the deputy that her mother’s neighbor, James Martin, had been outside earlier when she had arrived to check on her mother. According to the daughter, Rose knew Martin, who lived directly south of her place, and she had told her neighbors and her family that Martin “acted weird” and that she had expressed concern about him.

She also told the deputy that Martin had been carrying a can of gasoline and appeared to have been intent on burning a large brush pile on his property. Ironically, the deputy who was taking this missing person’s report had taken a complaint against Martin the night before. On February 20, at approximately 10:57 p.m., Jennifer Martin had called the Sheriff’s Office to complain that her husband James had threatened (via telephone) to kill her. According to Jennifer, James was at the Leisure Lounge in Westmoreland and had been drinking since 5 p.m. Jennifer had been at the lounge with him earlier in the evening. While at the location, James and Jennifer got into an argument and James cursed Jennifer. Rose, who was working at the location confronted James about his abusive language.

The Sheriff’s Deputy advised Jennifer Martin that he would forward the complaint to the County Attorney and would make contact with James Martin. Jennifer advised the deputy that she was going to spend the night with her parents. The deputy drove to the Leisure Lounge where he learned that Martin had left approximately 30 minutes earlier. The deputy attempted to make contact with Martin at his residence, where a light was visible inside. However, he was unable to contact Martin.

James Martin was a 28-year-old ex-convict. He had an extensive arrest record and had been imprisoned in California several times. His charges ranged from DWI to assault and battery, grand theft auto, burglary, possession, and selling of stolen property, aiding a felon, and resisting arrest. James Martin rarely worked and when he did it was only part-time. The longest period of time that he was able to hold a job was five months. All of the jobs involved low-skilled labor.

The deputy, who had been advised that Martin had been outside earlier when the complainant called the police, went to Martin’s residence. Martin, who was dressed in multicolored boxing shorts, invited the deputy inside. Martin, who was mopping his kitchen, told the deputy that he didn’t know his neighbor Rose and had not seen her. The deputy noticed that the kitchen was extremely clean compared to the rest of Martin’s residence. The deputy reported his observations to detectives. Martin told the deputy that he had to go to work and was allowed to leave pending the arrival of the Kansan Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and other investigators.

On February 21 at approximately 7:45 p.m., James Martin was arrested for the criminal threats against his wife, Jennifer, made on February 20. Martin was arrested at his place of work in Westmoreland where he worked as a part-time cook. Martin was interviewed regarding the criminal threats and for any information on the disappearance of his neighbor, Rose.

Martin told the detectives that he had been drinking at the Leisure Lounge on February 20 from 5 p.m. until he left at about 10:30 p.m. He stated that he arrived home at approximately 10:45 p.m. and went directly to bed. Martin acknowledged that he knew Rose from the Leisure Lounge, but did not associate with her as a neighbor. It was during the interview that the detectives noticed that Martin used the past tense when he described Rose. The investigators asked the suspect if they could examine his clothing, which Martin voluntarily submitted to them. Martin further agreed to allow agents to search his residence as long as he could be present during the search.

In the interim, unbeknownst to Martin, officers had brought in a human tracking canine to ascertain whether or not the dog could locate the missing person. The dog tracked a scent, associated with Rose, to the Martin residence. A search warrant was issued for the Martin residence. During the search, a black plastic bag containing the victim’s purse and identification were located.

In addition, the authorities discovered human body parts, a steam iron with cut cord, and bloody clothing inside the plastic bag. The search of the residence also located bloody clothing belonging to Martin. The authorities seized a .22-caliber rifle and ammunition, photographs depicting James and Jennifer Martin and others who had been bound in electrical cord, assorted pornographic materials, and marijuana.

On February 22, a search party located the torso (head, arms, and legs missing) wrapped in a blanket and multicolored afghan under tree roots on the west bank of a creek approximately 200 yards east of Rose’s residence.

James Martin was reinterviewed after authorities had executed the search warrants and recovered a number of pieces of evidence, including the victim’s disarticulated body and other body parts. During this interview, Martin admitted to shooting the victim and then provided police with an extensive statement, which was obviously self-serving and attempted to portray the innocent victim as a willing participant.

Martin stated that he had gone to the victim’s residence after she arrived home from work. He claimed that he was outside playing “Rambo” with his .22-caliber rifle prior to going to Rose’s home. Martin claimed that once inside Rose’s house, they both drank beer and smoked cigarettes and talked. Martin claimed that Rose asked him, “Do you want to fuck?” after changing into a nightgown. Martin claimed that Rose asked him to tie her up. Martin stated that he bound her hands with an electrical cord from an iron. (This iron was a Christmas gift from one of her children and had been recovered during the search secreted in a black plastic bag.)

Martin stated that they then had consensual sexual intercourse, which didn’t last long. According to Martin, he had been overcome with guilt having violated his marriage vows. Martin stated that the cord binding Rose’s hands had become loose, so he then tied Rose’s hands and feet together and placed a towel over Rose’s face. Martin then claimed that he attempted to leave the residence, but then returned with his rifle in hand to the bedroom where Rose was bound. Martin stated that, while attempting to untie Rose, the rifle accidentally discharged striking Rose in the head.

Martin claimed that he tried to save Rose to the point of performing CPR. He told the investigators that he was afraid to call the paramedics because he thought that people would not believe him, so he decided to dispose of her body, but claimed she was too heavy to lift. Martin stated that he then decided to dismember Rose. He told the investigators that he used a serrated-edged knife to remove Rose’s head, arms, and legs.

Martin stated that he wrapped the torso in blankets and used an electrical cord to bind the blankets. He then carried the blanket-wrapped torso to the creek and threw it in. Martin told the investigators that he then returned to Rose’s residence and cleaned the house. Martin directed KBI agents to an area behind the co-op where he had hidden the arms and legs in a big red bag. The location of the co-op was approximately 150 yards north of the restaurant where Martin worked. The bag contained a black shirt, a car seat cover, and a white plastic bag, which contained a fragmented skull, scalp, eye-brows, skinned feet, skin, arm and leg bones, and leg flesh.

James Martin was reinterviewed on February 23 and 24. He was confronted with the discrepancies in his previous statements as well as the evidence that the KBI agents and police had recovered and analyzed. Martin acknowledged that the sex with the victim was not consensual. However, he continued to maintain that the gunshot was accidental. Marin explained that once he determined that Rose was dead, he needed to remove the bullet from her head so that it could not be traced back to him. Martin told the investigators that he put his finger in the bullet wound, but could not feel the bullet.

Martin said that he looked in Rose’s mouth and couldn’t find the bullet. He stated that he then used a small hammer, screwdriver, and knife to make a hole in her skull. He stated that he stuck his hand inside the victim’s head and tried to find the bullet, but could only find pieces of bone. Martin then stated that he pulled the brains out and placed them on a plastic bag and continued to look for the bullet, but couldn’t find it. (It should be noted that the forensic pathologist located bullet fragments during the autopsy.)

Martin stated that he removed Rose’s head, arms, and legs and disposed of the torso as he had previously described. Martin told the investigators that he used bleach to clean traces of semen from Rose’s vagina and stomach. Martin stated that after he disposed of the torso, he returned to the victim’s residence and carried the other body parts back to his residence using the kitchen trashcan. He then returned to Rose’s house and cleaned the residence using bleach and a mop. Martin stated that he hid the trashcan containing the body parts next to the air conditioning unit outside his residence. He told the investigators that he then entered his residence, took a bath, and went to bed at approximately 5 a.m.

Martin stated that he awoke about five hours later. He said that his wife, Jennifer, had returned to the residence, but then left again at approximately 1 p.m. to go to work. Martin stated that he brought the remaining body parts into his residence and sectioned them into smaller pieces as he attempted to remove identifiable parts and accelerate decomposition by removing the skin tissue from the bones. He told the police that he finished sectioning the body between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.

Martin told the investigators that he noticed people in Rose’s yard and knew that they were looking for her. So, he returned to the creek where he had disposed of the torso and held it under some tree roots with a rock. Martin then returned to his residence and cleaned the kitchen area with dishwashing soap and cleaning products. Martin also advised the investigators that he had been arrested approximately 30 minutes after he had placed the big red bag behind the co-op.

Martin pled guilty to capital murder and burglary. In return for his guilty plea, the State of Kansas agreed not to seek the death penalty. James Martin was sentenced to 40 years for the capital murder and 102 months (8 1⁄2 years) for the burglary. The sentences were to run consecutively.