By Joe Anuta
Family members of a 23-year-old Astoria college student who was raped and murdered in 2009 laid eyes on her accused killer for the first time last week in an arraignment hearing in Queens Criminal Court.
After about four years, investigators trying to crack the mysterious and grisly homicide of Carmen Saldana, a part-time Fashion Institute of Technology student who was discovered strangled by her mother inside their 30th Avenue apartment, caught a break when DNA evidence linked convicted felon Jose Martinez to the crime, according to District Attorney Richard Brown.
“The young woman, Carmen Saldana, was just 23 years old. She had a bright and promising future, which was abruptly cut short by her brutal and senseless murder, allegedly at the hands of the defendant,” the DA said. “This case will be vigorously prosecuted to ensure that justice is served on behalf of the victim and her family.”
Saldana, brought by her mother to the country from Mexico City as a child, had been studying fashion part-time and working as a waitress to make ends meet, a family member told TimesLedger Newspapers in 2009.
Last week her family had strong words for Martinez, who was led into his arraignment hearing last Thursday in irons and a green jumpsuit, according to the New York Post.
“He is an animal,” Saldana’s mother Susana said, according to the Post.
Saldana’s brother Carlos was also present in court, where Martinez was charged in a 15-count indictment, and told the Post he wanted Martinez to pay for what prosecutors said was a vicious crime that unfolded after a party.
In July 2009, Martinez offered to walk Saldana home after the event in Long Island City, but when they arrived at her home she refused to let him come inside, Brown said.
Martinez kicked in the door, then allegedly raped and murdered her, the DA said.
He was hit with a slew of charges in Queens Criminal Court, including second-degree murder and first-degree rape in connection to Saldana’s death, Brown said.
Investigators had hit a wall in the case. Shortly after the murder, authorities cleared two men who had been at the party with Saldana.
But in 2011 Martinez pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment in connection with an earlier attack on a cab driver, the DA said.
As a result of his conviction, Martinez was required to submit a DNA sample, which the DA said matched evidence at the scene of Saldana’s murder.
According to the Post, Martinez has said he was born in 1993 instead of 1983, which is what prosecutors have said. It would have made him 15 at the time of Saldana’s death, and if he were to be convicted of the crime he would have the possibility of a lesser sentence, the Post said.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
