Jury Convicts Clayton Woman Of First Degree Murder

CLAYTON – A Clayton woman will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole. A Johnston County jury found Deysi Yhuriko Martinez of Liberty Lane guilty of first-degree murder following a two and a half week trial in Superior Court in Smithfield.

After the guilty verdict, Superior Court Judge Paul Holcombe sentenced Martinez to life in prison without parole.

On April 4, 2021 at 3:32am, deputies with the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call on Liberty Lane near Clayton. Martin Garcia, 24, was found dead in the front yard of the home where he lived with Martinez. An autopsy indicated Garcia died of a fatal stab wound to the chest. He also sustained stab wounds to the left arm and left eye.

The victim was in a dating relationship with Martinez and they had a young child.

A witness testified during the trial that Deysi Martinez assaulted the victim with her hands hours prior to the fatal stabbing. The jury also heard evidence of prior domestic violence by the defendant against Garcia.

“The District Attorney’s Office is pleased with the verdict and appreciates the jurors’ thoughtful and deliberate work in the case. The verdict sends the right message that domestic violence must be taken seriously and must not be tolerated by anyone in our community. We are also appreciative of the hard work of the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office and lead Detective Randy Ackley for the thorough and professional investigation that made this verdict possible. We hope the verdict will bring some measure of justice and closure to the family of the victim,” stated Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle.

22 COMMENTS

  1. Will the liberals be calling for “common sense knife control” now, or are we not there yet? Come on, Dems…blame the tool some more.

    • @Brett: There already are several: NC14-269 restricts concealed carry of knives and subsection (a) restricts the overall blade length. NC 14-315 restricts the sale of knives to minors. NC 14-269.2-4 restricts possession of knives in schools, government buildings, etc. The GOP-controlled state legislature has refused to take up ANY action to remove these restrictions. #YouAreNotAsFreeAsYouThink #BlameTheRightPeople

    • When someone knives down 12 people in 2 minutes you’ll have an apt comparison. You’re right, it’s not the tool, it’s ability to kill multiple people in an instance that’s the problem – knives can’t do that.

      • So murder doesn’t bother you, just when a lot are murdered at one time. Spare me your morality.

        • Thought you could use some morals, but I guess not. Trying to compare a domestic knife murder to mass shootings isn’t remotely the same thing, but Brett thinks he’s being clever with his comparison.

        • Big Oof? You are probably the only one who thinks mass stabbings are a bigger concern in the US than mass shootings. No one is denying that mass stabbings can happen, but they are less likely to happen and a knife attack is way easier to defend against. The wikipedia article mentions 5 big examples and 4 of them happened in other countries. Quit idolizing guns and the 2nd amendment as the Bible tells you to have no other gods.

    • Nah. She would’ve used something else to do what she did. Tool didn’t matter. She probably has some sort of mental health issue just like everyone else who does stupid things and win stupid prizes. Background, upbringing, childhood life all come into affect. But I don’t expect righties to think of things like that.

    • Right bc knives are in the news daily for mass killings. Oh that’s right, they aren’t. It’s GUNS.

      • And no talk of motive or root issues driving people to do this…oh unless it’s right-wing eXeTrEmIsM. Narrative Narrative Narrative

  2. No winners in this situation. That poor child now gets to grow up without parents. May God protect him and allow him to move past the hurt his mother has inflicted on his life.

  3. Those who get life without parole is where I believe in the death penalty. Our jails are way to overcrowded now. Why keep someone in the system and pay for this? Just thinking out loud I guess. Not trying to offend anyone.

    • Many people have been exonerated through dna testing while being on death row or being sentenced to life in prison. That’s one reason to question the death penalty.

    • @Captain: When you start allowing me to get child support, claim child tax credit, take out an insurance policy, or obtain a social security number for these unborn, then I’ll understand why you call it “murder.” #hypocrites

      • The local health department provides everyone who can not afford it medical care for their unborn child.
        #dontdeservekidsifyouwanttokillthem

        • @Captain: I didn’t mention health care, but nice sidestep!

          When you start allowing me to get child support, claim child tax credit, take out an insurance policy, or obtain a social security number for these unborn, then I’ll understand why you call it “murder.” #hypocrites

      • @Tell the truth Interesting how child support, insurance, social security numbers, etc. didn’t exist for thousands of years, but now that is your definition of what defines a human life? Abortion is murder. The fact that some people don’t want to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, does not erase the fact that a human life was created.

        • @JoCoProud: They’re not my definition of a person — they’re the GOVERNMENT’s. The same government that says that “killing” an unborn fetus is murder also says that an unborn fetus is not a person. You can’t have it both ways. The anti-abortion crowd wants to call an unborn fetus a “person” for the sake of murder, but not for child support. You say a human life begins at conception, then why not allow the mother to get child support immediately? If there’s a bigger example of hypocrisy, I have yet to see it.

  4. Background, upbringing, childhood may have played a part in the reasoning behind what she did, but that sure doesn’t excuse it, or lessen the seriousness of her actions in any way. Someone’s life was taken! Those things have absolutely NO place in determining guilt or innocence. Not like the “lefties”…oh I’m so sorry you had a hard childhood and it caused you to take someone’s life…here let me hit your hand with my ruler and you can go! Sounds like the radical left narrative to me. The question is did she do it, or didn’t she? All that other crap is irrelevant. That’s like letting a drunk driver who hit and killed someone off the hook because they’re an alcoholic…..poor thing ….Cry me a river bozo!

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