49: A Father Wipes Out His Entire Family | The Crews Family Murders

A community gathered tonight to more of the loss of a Modesto family found murdered in their home. He has taken away many future generations of our family. Mr. Martin has proceeded to suffocate Elizabeth I and to Esmeralva next. He's suffricated, six-year-old Elizabeth, and five-year-old Esmeralda. He waited by the door, found her, and stabbed her to death. Just a heartbreaking evening in the Central Valley as family and friends gathered to remember the five victims of the Modesto massacre. The Modesto Police Department has not given a cause or motive for these murders. Test results confirming the boy died of blunt force trauma arrived two days before the quintuple murder. Police were asked if they could have prevented it. Absolutely not the Modesto Police Department did not drop the ball on this. Hello and a welcome back to an all-new episode of "Ten to Life" with me, Annie Elise. I hope you are doing well and wherever you are, whatever you're doing. I really hope that you are in the right head space right now. Because today's case, it's one that I have to be honest with you. As I was researching it, I had to pause quite a bit and regulate my nervous system. There's just so many unexpected moments throughout this case that will leave you questioning your sanity, your belief in other people, your belief in faith. I don't even know, like it's just one of those cases that is so haunting. So whether you are cleaning right now, relaxing right now, working out, driving, whatever it is you're doing. I see you and I feel for you because I'm about to screw up your whole day, I fear. It's a very important case though that needs to be talked about and shared and that's why I'm here to break it down for you. But I just want to warn you, it made my blood boil and I have seen and heard a lot. I imagine it will make your blood boil as well. And what's really interesting is everything that would eventually unfold in this case, it traces back to one very terrifying realization. Amanda Cruz, a doctor, a mom, someone everyone trusted was living a double life, a double life that she never signed up for. And the danger around her was far closer than anybody realized. Now long before things spiraled publicly, I have to say there were quiet warning signs that were buried throughout her personal life. And so I want to break down everything for you as we go through. So I have my notes here that I'm going to be referencing and we're just going to, you know, go through it together. To understand how it all began, we have to go back to Modesto, California. Because this is the place where Amanda built her life, where she raised her kids and where the truth really started slipping through the cracks. Now for those who are unfamiliar, Modesto is a northern California town that's tucked into the central valley. It's kind of like farm country, long stretches of open land, neighborhoods where word travels fast. And it has that like small town feel to it a little bit, but underneath it, the crime rate is higher than 86% of the entire state. It's one of those places that looks calm from the outside, but once you're in it, you learn that it kind of carries its own edge. It also had gained quite a bit of notoriety through the Scott Peterson and Lacey Peterson case. So just if that name sounds familiar, not the Peterson name, of course, but Modesto, that could be why. Now even though the majority of this takes place in Modesto, Amanda herself wasn't born there. She was born on September 11th, 1976 in Gloucester, Virginia. And what's really interesting is she was a twin, which her identical sister Kimberly was her built-in best friend. They had that, you know, true twin connection, the kind that you can't fake, you can't explain unless you've lived it. Now Amanda grew up pretty much knowing exactly what she wanted in life. Her dad was incredibly proud of her. She aced everything that she put her mind to. And becoming a doctor was really all that she ever wanted. However, Amanda didn't come from an easy upbringing. She and Kimberly grew up in a home where violence was a part of their almost everyday reality. Kimberly has shared openly that her father was very abusive toward their mother. That's the environment that they were raised in. Yet still, Amanda pushed forward. She graduated from high school in 1994, left home for Boston University, where there she completed undergrad, then med school, and eventually she moved across the country to California for her residency. And as soon as she finished her medical residency, she went directly into serving the community. And by 2013, Amanda was exactly the doctor that she had dreamed of becoming. She worked in Stanislaus County, serving farm worker families, and serving people who struggled to get medical care anywhere else. She just really wanted to pour into the community to help people. Her co-workers said that her laugh was absolutely contagious too. The kind of laugh that made you join in, whether you wanted to or not. And I know I have my friends like that, like if they just like start dying laughing over something, I'm not even laughing at what they're laughing at. I'm just laughing over their reaction. And apparently that's how Amanda was as well. She also took her time with her patients. She was very caring. She had a great bedside nature. She listened. She cared. Then in 2006, Amanda ended up getting married. She married a man named Tim Ripley, and she became a stepmom to his daughter Lauren. Then, soon after that, she and Tim welcomed two children of their own. Now, Elizabeth, who was born in 2008, she was a creative little bleach blonde artist who loved drawing, loved swimming, and her brother Christopher, who was born in August of 2012, and named after Amanda's brother, had sandy blonde hair, was obsessed with blocks and trains, and inseparable from his older sister Elizabeth. They had just like that sweet, best friend, sibling bond that most parents dream of. And both kids looked like carbon copies of Amanda, the same striking blue eyes just beautiful children. And Amanda's twin sister, their aunt, she absolutely adored them. She treated them like they were her own. And the truth was, Amanda's brother hadn't planned on having kids due to medical reasons, and Kimberly couldn't have children at all. So, like I said, she poured everything into Elizabeth and Christopher. She was their second mom. Those kids were the center of the whole family's world. So, Amanda wanted to not only, of course, be a great doting mother, but she also was a doctor. That was her calling. So, with that, she needed to figure out a way to balance long shifts at the clinic with her mom life. Not all was easy, but it was something that she viewed as a privilege. Carrying for families during the day and then coming home to her own family at night, it just meant everything to her. But as we know, for whatever reason, families sometimes shift. And in January 2014, Amanda and Tim separated. However, their primary focus remained that they wanted to co-parent their children. They wanted to keep things as stable as possible for the kids. And then, shortly after all of this, Amanda entered another new chapter, one, unfortunately, that would eventually turn into a nightmare. And this nightmare was with a man named Martin Martinez. Now, not much is known about how they met, but he worked at the same county health agency as a stock delivery clerk. He handled inventory, supplies, you know, all the behind-the-scenes parts of healthcare that most people never see. And at 37 years old, Amanda was ready for her next chapter. Martin, however, was 29 years old, eight years younger than her, but that age gap didn't really mean much to her. It didn't hold her back. They hit it off right away, and before long, they were dating. Which, from that point on, I mean, things just moved, like, at lightning speed. Things moved incredibly fast. They got together in early 2014, right around that time of the separation, and by mid-April, he had moved in with her. And even more than that, Amanda was pregnant. Their homes blended quickly. Martin's five-year-old niece, Esmeralda, spent a lot of time at Amanda's house, and she and Amanda's daughter, Elizabeth, became inseparable, little partners in crime who brought non-stop energy into the house. And Amanda's step-daughter Lauren also stayed close as well, still showing up for Christopher and Elizabeth after Amanda's divorce was finalized. And you know what? From the outside, it really did look like Amanda and Martin were this fresh, new, happy couple. Having this new life together blended family, all of the joy that comes with that. But on the inside, things were already cracking. Cracks that would soon grow into something far darker than anyone could imagine. For example, that May, just shortly after getting together, Martin got a phone call from his brother in Idaho, telling him that he was about to take his own life. So Martin and Amanda, they immediately jumped in their car, and they took off on this 15-hour drive to Idaho. But by the time they got there, it was too late. Martin's brother was already on life support, and eventually he died. It shook them both to their core. Martin, especially, this was his brother. He didn't know how to handle this. He didn't know how to grieve. On the drive back to Modesto, Amanda wanted to stop in Sacramento to get something to eat because, by that point, they had been on the road. for over 13 hours, and remember, Amanda was eating for two, but Martin refused to stop. He just wanted to keep driving, almost like he was stuck in autopilot. However, this disagreement lit a fuse that exploded into a huge argument between the two of them, and by the time they made it back to Amanda's house, they had both hit their breaking point. And at around 10 p.m., Amanda called her twin sister Kimberly in a huge panic. She and Martin were in the middle of a brutal fight. So with the heated phone call, with knowing that there is this big argument and altercation, Kimberly and her husband, they didn't hesitate. They rushed straight over to the house. But when they pulled up, what they saw was complete chaos. Amanda was standing in the doorway, tossing Martin's belongings outside, kind of like you see in the movies when they're throwing the clothes all over the lawn. Martin was speeding off in the car into the night. Kimberly was begging her sister to call the police and to file a report, but she refused. And this was so bad, in fact, that the entire situation ended up causing a rift between the sisters. But not long after the fight, Amanda showed up with something that made everything even darker. Darker than it already was. She handed Kimberly an audio recording, and what was on it was chilling. In his own voice, Martin admitted he had pushed Amanda into a bathroom door. He said that when she fought back, he pushed her onto the bed and then held her down with his hands around her neck. Now he tried to justify it by blaming his rage on stress. His brother was on life support after all. He needed to get out of the house. He needed to get his mind off things. But he claimed that Amanda was blocking the door when he tried to leave. But then he kept talking. And in this, he brought up his digit zoo training. How his brother, who was a mixed martial arts fighter, had taught him to quote "break bones" and choke people out. And then, almost in the exact same breath, he insisted, you know, "I'm not an abusive person, apologizing to Kimberly, saying that he wanted Amanda to be happy, and that Kimberly's presence made Amanda happy." Now this hadn't been a small fight. Martin was 5/11. He was 230 pounds, a big physically trained man. All while Amanda was petite, pregnant, I mean, outmatched in every possible way. So the danger was really, really obvious. And all of this happened at night while the kids were likely home, maybe in bed, maybe awake, maybe asleep, maybe listening, maybe even seeing everything, which no kid should have to witness that. Yet for reasons that no one fully understands, Kimberly accepted Martin's explanation in that moment. And she stopped pushing Amanda to report him. However, things never really went back to normal, not after hearing that recording. And even though Amanda never called the police, the situation inside that house, it was shifting. Up until this point, Martin's family insisted that he had never shown violent tendencies. They said he didn't even receive so much as a parking ticket, he had a totally clean record. But behind closed doors, the reality was different. After that fight, Martin and Amanda ended up moving into a new home together. And it was tucked away into a very quiet upscale cul-de-sac at a street called Nob Hill Court. Which again, everything looked picture-perfect from the outside. The kind of neighborhood where people wave when they walk their dogs, kids are riding scooters in the driveway. And to anyone passing by, it would look like it was a fresh chapter, a clean slate, a happy family. But inside, it was a pressure cooker. And the pressure was building. Martin had started watching the kids more often, a lot more. And given everything that had happened, the fight, the recording, the choking, the excuses, the shift should have been a red flag alone, right? But Amanda was just trying to keep the peace, keep stability, keep her household moving forward. She was juggling so much to her career, her kids, her pregnancy, and now this man who had already shown flashes of something dangerous. The play dates continued though, as Marilda, Martin's five-year-old niece was still a regular at the house. Lauren still came around to see Christopher and Elizabeth, and everyone was still trying to blend, trying to make it work. Amanda, who had built her entire career and life around caring for others, was really just desperate to hold everything together, while ignoring or hoping that she could move past the danger that she already knew was there. But under the surface, there was no ignoring it. The dynamic had changed. Nob Hill Court wasn't a new beginning. It was a turning point. The moment where the cracks and the pressure in this family started expanding into fractures. The next thing that happens, well that's where this story takes a devastating turn. By September 2014, the cracks inside that home were no longer invisible. Daycare staff started noticing injuries on Little Christopher, injuries that were impossible to ignore and needed to be reported. One teacher even took photos, a black eye, a split lip. And when they brought it up to Amanda, she blamed it all on potty training mishaps, saying, "Oh, he wasn't quite ready, accidents happen, it wasn't anything to worry about, just trying to explain it away." But then came a third injury and the same explanation. Another bathroom accident, another excuse. And for whatever reason, somehow, no one at the daycare center called CPS. Even though teachers also noticed that Christopher not only was injured and had these reoccurring injuries, but also that he was acting differently. He clung to them, he cried whenever Martin showed up for pickup. Clearly, he was afraid of this man. Which let's just pause here for a second, okay? Because this is the biggest red flag that someone can waive. Yes, kids get bruises, they have accidents, they're clumsy, scraped knees, sure, absolutely. But a black eye, a split lip, that's not exactly normal, especially when it's reoccurring. That's not from, you know, slipping in the bathroom or a potty training accident. And daycare staff who see children all day long and who should be very well trained on this and trained on the signs to look for, they should have recognized that. Maybe they didn't want a question Amanda because she was a well-known doctor, maybe they genuinely believed her, I don't know. But the factor remains, they didn't call CPS. They didn't even call Tim, Christopher's dad, he had no idea that any of this was happening, which can you imagine the frustration with that. Then came September 30th, a random Tuesday that should have been just another normal day. But instead, it became the day that everything shattered. Amanda was about six months pregnant now. So that afternoon, she went to go pick up Elizabeth from school, leaving two-year-old Christopher home alone with Martin. And she was gone for just about ten minutes. But what happened in those ten minutes? It's unthinkable. When Amanda came home, Christopher was unresponsive. Martin was outside on the phone with 911. And while he was there waiting for help to arrive, Amanda just held Christopher, clinging to him, trying to keep it together, trying to figure out what is going on, what happened here. I was gone for ten minutes. Max arrived, and they found him pale, barely breathing, and non-responsive. Amanda told them that when she had walked through the door after dropping off Elizabeth, Christopher had been vomiting, and that he couldn't stand up straight. Responders later said that Amanda was calm, but she was clearly shaken. All while Martin looked concerned, but not overly emotional. Christopher was rushed to the hospital, and then he was transferred to a trauma center. He was ended up finding such severe brain swelling that there was no blood flow, no oxygen, nothing sustaining his brain. Christopher was essentially brain dead. And two days later, on October 2, 2014, he was gone. And Martin's explanation for what happened? Well, it changed every single time he shared it. First, he told the paramedics that the two of them had been rough housing together. He claimed that he swept Christopher's legs, Christopher fell backward, then Christopher accidentally hit his head. He told the detectives that same version. But in another interview, he changed the story, saying that he had picked Christopher up about three feet high, then lost his grip and Christopher fell and hit his head on the tile floor. But then it changed again. He said Christopher hit his head on a piece of furniture, so which was it? Did you sweep out his legs from underneath him? Did you throw them in the air and let them fall on the tile floor? Did he bump his head on the furniture? And why are there so many different versions of the story? Now we all know what it means when somebody can't keep their story straight, right? It means that they're hiding something. Maybe they're involved. Maybe they're covering something up. And the constant shifting in his explanation, it had the same energy as all of those cases, where you instantly say to yourself, you know, something is off here. And the doctors agreed, nothing that Martin said matched Christopher's injuries. And the pediatrician explained that Christopher's wounds were consistent with classic shaken baby syndrome. These injuries hadn't come from wrestling around. They hadn't come from a simple fall or an accident. The only way they made sense was if Christopher had fallen for more than 10 feet, or worse, if he had been slammed. Finding a therapist can already feel very overwhelming, but then you try to add in finding someone who you actually connect with and who takes your insurance, and it can feel like one more thing that you just do not have the energy to deal with. But that's why I really like what RULA is doing. RULA is a healthcare company that helps you find licensed in network therapists based on your needs and your preferences. They work with over 100 insurance plans, and the average copay for RULA patients is just $15 per session, and they make it easy to find providers who are accepting new patients with appointments available as soon as tomorrow. Thousands of people are already using RULA to get affordable high quality therapy that's actually covered by insurance. Visit RULA.com/10ToLife to get started. That's RULA.com/10ToLife, you deserve mental health care that works with you, not against your budget. And thousands of people are already using RULA to get affordable high quality therapy that's actually covered by insurance. So visit RULA.com/10ToLife to get started. That's RULA.com/10ToLife. Hospital staff did not waste any time. The moment that they saw Christopher's injuries, they flagged them as suspicious, and they called CPS. CPS agreed, and they pulled in Modesto Police. And suddenly Christopher's death, it was both a medical investigation, and also a criminal one. But here's the part that really makes me sick in all of this. The official ruling on Christopher's cause of death, it didn't come for nine months. Nine months. It wasn't until July 16, 2015 that they finally confirmed what everybody knew. This was a homicide. And I'm going to get into why that decision took nearly a year because the excuses behind it truly are unbelievable. But what breaks my heart even more is what came out afterward. After Christopher was gone, daycare staff told investigators about those bruises, those injuries, the black eye, the split lip, all the concerns that they had had, all the things that they never reported. They even admitted that Christopher wasn't even ready for potty training in the first place. They weren't random bystanders who chose not to intervene. These were mandated reporters who chose not to intervene, legally required to report suspected abuse, and they didn't. Now as for Christopher's father, Tim, Amanda's ex, and the father of not only Christopher, but also Elizabeth, he was completely beside himself, devastated. By the time police showed him the daycare photos, it was already unfortunately too late. Even social workers quietly told him they were frustrated that Martin still hadn't been arrested. And Tim knew, deep down, that Martin had something to do with his little boy's death. And from that moment on, he had one mission, one mission only. Keep his daughter, Elizabeth, as far away from Martin as possible. And CPS agreed. They opened an investigation and they ordered that Amanda had to keep Elizabeth away from Martin for one full year. Which their reasoning was simple, Martin was still around. Christopher's death was an active homicide investigation and Elizabeth needed protection. But according to what Tim later told investigators, Amanda refused to listen to that order. Which you would think that if your son has just died, your toddler son, your two-year-old son, that cannot even protect himself and that it's a homicide investigation, even if you are not in a place emotionally to detach yourself from the person you are with, put your children first and at least make sure that they are protected. But that did not seem to be Amanda's focus. And in the middle of all of this, Amanda and Martin welcomed their daughter Rachel. This was on December 29th, 2014, just three months after Christopher died. And I can't even begin to imagine the emotional weight of bringing a newborn home in the aftermath of that kind of loss. I mean, it is very difficult to imagine and wrap your head around. Now as for little Rachel, she had this huge personality and big sparkling brown eyes. She loved bouncing in her chair. She loved babbling at her older sister, Elizabeth. Lauren, Elizabeth's half-sister, adored her too and stepped right into that honorary big sister role. And they really just doted over her. And here's the part that doesn't make sense. Everything points to only Elizabeth being named in that CPS order. There is no clear mention anywhere of Rachel, this new baby being included. And honestly, the reporting around all of this is pretty messy. Some outlets say that the order only applied to Elizabeth. Others said that it applied to quote "the cruise children" which would make you think both kids. But the most logical explanation? That the order was issued before Rachel was born, which would explain why only Elizabeth was specifically named. But whatever the true reason was, CPS remained tight-lipped. They wouldn't release any details about how Martin's case was being handled. So all signs point to the ban applying to Elizabeth and Elizabeth alone. And from what I can gather, this entire discrepancy traces back to police using the language that never clarified exactly who was protected, leaving a lot of room for confusion at the absolute worst possible time. The Department of Children's Services had stepped in to protect Mrs. Cruz's other children. He said CPS was involved with the other children, but Martin is still living at that house. So what exactly did CPS do? I can't answer that question. So yeah, it's complicated. From everything that we know, Amanda either didn't follow the CPS order, or maybe she simply couldn't. Because it looks like that order never protected Rachel in the first place. So yes, it covers Elizabeth, but not the newborn. The system essentially put a wall up for one child, but left the door wide open for another. And still, nobody has been able to explain why. Now during all of this, Amanda and Tim finalized their divorce, and everybody was struggling, especially Elizabeth. She had just lost her baby brother, and she was trying to make sense of everything in her mind. Amanda got her into counseling, and thankfully, Elizabeth responded very well to the support. But behind the scenes, things between Amanda and Tim, they were getting tense. Amanda filed court papers accusing Tim of "implanting things" into Elizabeth's head about Martin. She even tried to get the judge to restrict Tim's access to their daughter. She accused him of drug use, claimed he was a neglectful parent, and just tried to do anything possible to create some sort of parental alienation, to separate him away. He was the one that was trying to alienate her, he's the abuse of one, he's the bad one. But the judge didn't believe it, and none of it stuck. Meanwhile, the police investigation dragged on for months, and there's conflicting reporting about some of what happened next. However, one of Amanda's friends recalled a conversation that said a lot. She said, quote, "She told me that Marty asked her to sneak him into the house so that he could see Rachel." And Amanda said, "No," she said, "No, I won't break the law for you." She sounded frustrated, which why would you risk a jail in losing your medical license? Saying no was the right thing to do. So it sounds as though maybe Amanda finally was starting to put up boundaries, starting to protect her family and herself and her career. And when her twin sister Kimberly was asked whether Amanda was still seeing Martin while he was banned from being around Elizabeth, she tried to set the record straight. "So there are public misconceptions. I can't comment on them or clear them up at this time because I've been asked not to elaborate on any of the details of the investigation. So I'm not going to be able to clear them up now for this day frustrating. It is very frustrating, but there are misconceptions about details every life." I know it's easy looking back to ask why Amanda didn't just outright leave, why she didn't see the danger, but when you grow up in a home where violence is normal, which remember, she and her sister did. Your internal compass, it can get warped. You can start justifying things, excusing things, rationalizing things, and part of you may even think that some of the actions are normal. As the truth is, what's unacceptable to most people, it can start to feel familiar, even survivable. Now don't get me wrong, none of this excuses Amanda's choices. She was an adult, she should have had the priority of keeping her kids safe. However, emotional abuse and manipulation, it can twist reality. People go back, they hope that things will get better, and sometimes they never take the chance to break free. By all accounts too, Amanda was someone who believed in second chances, someone who tried to fix what was broken, maybe because she had survived so much herself. So yeah, we can point out the choices, of course, that she didn't make, like staying with Martin after he attacked her, downplaying Christopher's injuries, allegedly keeping the kids around Martin, even after her son's death, but these situations are messy, and they are never as simple as they seem from the outside. Now fast forward, nine months after Christopher's death. And if you thought things had already hit rock bottom, I wish that I could tell you that they got better, but they don't, not even close. Because what comes next, it is pure, incomprehensible evil. It was Saturday, July 18th, 2015, the middle of a hot summer day. Amanda did what she always did. She kept moving. She attended a health conference in the morning, and then when she was done with that, she headed to the store to grab some batteries for her garage door opener. Meanwhile, back at the house on Nob Hill Court, Martin was there. He was supposed to be nowhere near Elizabeth, though, yet he still had a key. He also knew the garage code. Now, no one knows the exact minute that he slipped inside, but we do know that he entered through the garage. The first person that he encountered was his mother, 57-year-old Anna Brown Romero. She was in the laundry room when Martin walked in. And what happened next was immediate, and it was brutal. He stabbed her. He slashed her jugular, and also her corroded artery. The wounds were so deep, so catastrophic that she never even had a chance. She couldn't even scream. Then, Martin went upstairs. And in the master bedroom, he found six-year-old Elizabeth and five-year-old Esmeralda, his little niece. The two of them were playing together. Two little girls on a normal play date just having fun. He then suffocated Elizabeth with a plastic bag while his little niece Esmeralda watched. He cinched it so tight around her neck that she couldn't breathe at all. No hesitation, no mercy. And then after his little niece watched all of this, he turned to her, and he did the exact same thing. The medical examiner later said that their brains and lungs showed the classic swelling that you would see with suffocation. And these murders weren't fast. These murders took minutes. Slow, horrific, horrifying minutes. And these were just children. He took their last breaths from them, and imagine that betrayal. We talk a lot about suffocation and strangulation, and those kinds of methods on this channel, and in these episodes. And it is not only something that takes a significant amount of time when you really think about it, but it's something that is so up close, so personal. So to think, these two young children, seeing him in front of them, someone who, yeah, maybe they know what he has done or the allegations or they've heard things, but someone who is an adult, a grown-up who they should trust and who should be protecting them. And he's the one doing this, as he watches the life drain out of their bodies. And I know it's not-- it's like, OK, it takes minutes. That's not long at all. It is minutes. Imagine if right now you took your phone and you set a timer for three to five minutes and just watched it and waited. And imagine that a little child is looking you in the eye that entire time, as you are watching life drain out of them. It is inhumane. It is barbaric and horrifying. And if there was ever any doubt of the kind of monster that we're dealing with in this situation, I mean, this ends it. Then after doing this, he went downstairs. And there, his own six-month-old little daughter, Rachel, was in her crib. Either asleep or just beginning to wake up. And this monster suffocated her as well. His own baby, his own daughter, her newborn. She died before even having a real chance at life. Three children, three futures, gone. Elizabeth, Esmeralda, and Rachel. And the ripple effects, I mean friends, classmates, teachers, entire families, all shattered. And then Amanda came home. She pulled into the driveway completely unaware that everything she loved was already gone. She walked through the front door. She locked it behind her, just like she always did. But Martin was waiting on the other side of it. And he attacked her immediately, stabbing her again and again, her head, her face, her neck. The pathologist later said that she had such deep defensive wounds on her hands from fighting back. She tried to save herself and probably had tried to save the children as well, not knowing that he had already killed them. She fought. She fought hard. But the attack was too vicious. She died right there, just steps inside her own entryway. These wounds were so severe that she never had a chance. And as if this whole thing wasn't sickening enough, he then took Amanda's $2 bill, a lucky charm that she had carried with her for years, a gift that was from her mother. He took it from her, then he locked the doors behind him, and he left through the garage. Now it didn't take long before people realized that something was very, very wrong here. Amanda had missed a lunch plan, something that she never would have done. So by 3.30 pm, friends were concerned. One even called for a welfare check, but they also weren't going to just wait around. Some of Amanda's friends ended up driving to the house, desperate for hours, knowing in their gut that something was wrong. Amanda's stepdaughter Lauren came as well. The girl who loved Christopher, who adored Elizabeth, who saw herself as a big sister to Rachel. She checked all the doors, but all of them were locked. Curtains were closed, and with that, something felt wrong. You're really wrong. Why is everything locked up? Why is everything closed? Why is everything shuttered? So she crawled through a window. And what she found when she got through that window would haunt her forever. Here's exactly what Lauren said. Quote, "I saw Amanda first, dead. I unbolted the front door, and I went searching for Elizabeth because all I wanted to do was protect her. I opened the bedroom door, and I didn't step inside because I couldn't, because I saw her covered with a trash bag. The pain of that day is undefineable. A piece of me died as I stumbled down those stairs. Minutes later, police arrived. And inside, they found Amanda, her two daughters, Martin's mother, and his niece, all dead. The scene was so horrific that officers stood outside of the house praying. Modesto police and the California Department of Justice Forensic team locked down the house immediately, and they worked late into the night, combing through every room, collecting DNA, fibers, fingerprints, anything that could help them piece together those final hours. They also searched the neighborhood. They pulled security footage, checked phone records, interviewed neighbors, and talked with anyone who might have seen or heard even the smallest detail. News meanwhile spread fast, and neighbors all crowded together outside. People were sobbing, hugging each other, trying to process the unimaginable. The entire cul-de-sac was swallowed up by sirens. These flashing lights, investigators, news crews, it felt surreal. This quiet street turned into a crime scene. And where was Martin during all of this? Well, he had driven three hours away to San Jose, and he walked straight into a family barbecue as if nothing had ever happened. He mingled, he ate, he talked, he joked, he left, and he was surrounded by relatives who had absolutely no idea what he had just done. That night, he even went to the movies with his father. And according to everybody who was there, he acted completely normal, completely like nothing had happened. This man, who just slaughtered his own mother, his own baby, his niece, his stepdaughter, and Amanda, he was smiling, joyful, happy, chatting, blending in, like nothing ever happened. And this isn't just evil. This is like ice in the veins, chilling predatory emptiness. It is the only definition of a monster I can think of. It's terrifying to even try to understand it. I literally have the chills right now thinking about it. And here's another part that is going to haunt you. Just two days before the murders on Thursday, July 16, Modesto police finally got the answer that they had been waiting nine months for. A neuropathologist confirmed that Christopher's death was a homicide. Blunt forced trauma, which was now the smoking gun, enough to arrest Martin right then, right there. On Thursday, the police had proof. They had everything. They had the smoking gun. But on Friday, nothing happened. No arrest. And by Saturday, five more innocent lives were snatched away from them. [MUSIC PLAYING] If you've tried everything to lose weight yet, you still feel stuck. Weight loss by hers gives you another option. Hers now offers access to an affordable range of FDA approved GLP1 medications, including the Wugoui pill and Wugouvi pen. Everything is 100% online. You'll connect with a licensed provider who can determine if treatment is right for you and if you qualify for it. And if prescribed, your medication is delivered right to your door. No insurance necessary. Plus, you'll have access to 24/7 messaging with your care team and in app lifestyle and nutrition support. So are you ready to reach your goals? 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So head to mood.com, find the functional gummy that matches exactly what you're looking for, and let mood help you discover your perfect mood. And don't forget to use promo code 10-to-life when you check out to save 20% off on your first order. Try it today at mood.com code 10-to-life. It took the murders of five people for the district attorney to finally file charges against Martin for Christopher's death. They filed an open murder charge and also a felony child abuse causing death charge, which an open murder charge is basically a placeholder. Its prosecutors buying themselves time to decide whether it's first degree or second degree murder. A judge also approved a special type of warrant, a warrant that is used before final charges are set. Meanwhile police launched a full manhunt. They began tracking Martin's car, which was a red link and navigator, and they also alerted San Jose authorities that he might be headed their way. Then around 10 p.m., officers found the navigator abandoned, lights off, but no Martin inside. So the working theory then became that Martin had switched cars, likely riding with his father to the movies. So by 1 a.m. on Sunday, July 19th, outside the Oak Ridge Mall Theatre in San Jose, officers located the second vehicle. There they set up a stake out. They waited and waited. And when Martin casually walked out of the movie theater, they arrested him without a fight. He still had Amanda's $2 bill in his pocket, the same good luck charm that she had carried with her for years, only now it had blood on it. Two days later, just 48 hours after investigators found the bodies of Amanda, Anna, Elizabeth, Mrs. Morelda and Baby Rachel, police held a press conference, the same one that you heard earlier. Now, up until this point, the public had been told nothing about Christopher's death. But what they said next was really hard to believe, and you need to hear it for yourself. She brought up nine months to. it seems like nine months passed from Christopher's death to the verbal word that it was lump trauma. So it took nine months to get that, and you got that word on Thursday, the 16th. This new murder was on Saturday. When did you put out the warrant for his arrest on that Thursday? No. And actually what took nine months is, as many of you know, homicide investigations do take a great deal of time. You only have one shot and make it an arrest or making that case so you want to make sure that you do that properly. With the nine months, part of that was hiring a forensic analyst to do additional testing on Christopher Ripley, and so sometimes that just takes time. The verbal notification was on Thursday. The Ramy warrant was issued Saturday night after Mr. Martinez became a person of interest in this homicide, and that was so that we could ensure that he was taken off the street and did not disappear while we were looking into this homicide. Why not issue right from Thursday when you knew one source and he had already been assessment? At that time, there was no indications that there would be any violence within that family. There had been no calls for service at that location. It is believed that Mr. Martinez and Miss Cruz had continued a relationship. In fact, the six-month-old was their child. And so the verbal notification is not the final report. It's not the final corners report. It's also not the final report from that pathologist. So there was still some investigating or paperwork that needed to be done before that case was filed. We actually sped it up on Saturday night when Mr. Martinez became a person of interest in this homicide. Chief Harold, with all due respect, did the police department drop the ball on this one? Mr. Martinez was a suspect in this two-year-old's death, and for nine months, he was allowed to still have continued contact with this family and these children. But all of these individuals' deaths have been prevented. Like I said, when it comes to homicide investigations, you only have one shot to make your case. And there's much more than just the police department that's involved in criminal investigations. We put together a case. There has to be enough probable cause to arrest that individual. Let's just call it what it is. They did drop the ball. Absolutely 100%. I mean, here in police stand there and insist that there were no indications of further violence. I mean, really? After everything we know, really? That's the hill you're going to die on? Because if anybody had dug into Christopher's case during those long nine months, they would have found the daycare photos. They would have seen the bruises. They would have connected the dots. But they didn't. And we all know how that failure played out. So fast forward to Thursday, July 23rd, 2015, just days after the press conference. And Martin shuffled into court for his first arrangement. He pleaded not guilty to Christopher's death. But obviously nobody in that courtroom was buying it. His bail was then set at $5 million. Now while that was still unfolding inside, the entire community outside was a reeling. Just overnight, vigils started forming, and the biggest ones happened at a local park. Around 200 people gathered, all crying, praying, telling stories, friends, co-workers, patients, neighbors, anyone whose life had been touched by Amanda or the kids. They showed up for them. There was shock, anger, heartbreak, all of it, just spilling out as they mourned and questioned why more hadn't been done. Teachers showed up too. One of them remembered Little Elizabeth dancing around the classroom, full of life, always moving, always smiling. And outside the Nob Hill court home, the crime scene became a growing memorial. Flowers, candles, teddy bears, toys, neighbors brought blankets, and every hour more people showed up. People who never even met the family, but felt the weight of what had happened. People who couldn't make sense of it, but felt compelled to do something, just to show that they cared. Less than three days after five bodies were discovered in a Modesto home not far from this park, friends and co-workers of the victims gathered here for a vigil where there is an equal mixture of shock, frustration, anger, and sorrow. At Standford Park, just a couple of miles from the Nob Hill court massacre, tears, hugs, and togetherness. I think Murl just kind of grappling with what's happened. Andrea Do Gertis spent the past three years working with Dr. Amanda Cruz, one of the victims of the multiple homicide. I mean, I think we're all incredibly devastated. She is, I think, you know, one of the most incredible positive role models you could have as a future physician. Cruz was found dead, along with another adult in the home, 57-year-old Anna Romero, also killed two of Cruz's children, aged six months and six years, and another child around the same age as the eldest. Rachel Friel was a patient of Cruz at the hospital. Because of her, I'm still alive. Because of her, I have my one-year-old daughter. And I owe her my life, and I just wish I could have been there to help her. Friel thinks Cruz should have been offered protection from her ex-boyfriend, 30-year-old Martin Martinez, the prime suspect in the case. Before the mass murder, he was already being investigated in the death of Cruz's two-year-old child from October of last year. It took until this past week for them to issue an arrest warrant. You know, he may have reacted the same way. It's really hard to tell what would have happened. You know, you can say it would have happened this way, or it would have happened that way you really don't know. Amanda, Elizabeth, and Baby Rachel were all laid to rest together, side by side. And plots right next to Little Christopher. Now you might be wondering why we haven't seen photos of Esmeralda, or heard more about Anna, or anything that really paints a picture of who they were. And honestly, through my research, I was thinking the exact same thing. But there just isn't much out there. The only obituary that I found for Esmeralda was extremely bare. No photo, no birthday, just her date of death, and the county that she lived in, and the detail that she was cremated. That's it. Now my best guess for that is that Martin's family stayed at arm's length from the media, maybe to shield themselves, maybe to protect the little privacy that they had left. Who really knows? By September 2015, just two months after the murders, the child specialists and hospital doctors who fought to save Christopher walked into court. And they laid everything out at all cards on the table, the extent of the brain injuries, the swelling, the lack of oxygen, the physical trauma, and they made it crystal clear that Christopher's injuries were no accident. He had to have been so violently shaken or slammed to cause these types of injuries. And they also pointed out how Martin's story kept changing. One doctor even noted in a lot of abuse cases, potty training, and soil diapers are the triggering factor. Which can you believe that? Can you imagine that an adult, a parent, and a grown-up getting so upset that a two-year-old isn't potty trained and that they're wetting themselves, that they inflict physical harm on them? I mean, I can't even wrap my brain around it. How does that happen? The paramedics also took the stand and they described finding Christopher unresponsive. Even one of Christopher's daycare teachers showed up, which she claimed that she can't remember the exact day that she took those bruised photos, but she did confirm the warning signs. How Christopher clung to the teachers and cried whenever Martin came to pick him up. Yet still, remember, never called CPS over it? Meanwhile, detectives were compiling the physical evidence from Nob Hill, logging, bagging, shipping, box after box of forensic material to the lab. Then, on Monday, February 8, 2016, Martin was hit with five counts of first-degree murder. Anna, Elizabeth, Esmeralda, Baby Rachel, and Amanda. Every major special circumstance was added on top, multiple victims lying in wait, knife enhancements, everything. And those charges, they made him eligible for the death penalty. Now naturally, being the piece of shit coward he is, he pleaded not guilty again, so the judge denied bail instantly. But here's the part that stuns a lot of people. Martin was found competent to stand trial, meaning that he knew exactly what he was doing. No delusions that prevented him from understanding reality, no insanity defense to try to hide behind. He was competent. So fast forward to August 2017, and that's when the preliminary hearing finally begins. And prosecutors unloaded all the evidence. Detectives testified that that $2 bill that was found in Martin's pocket belonged to Amanda. They also testified that the blood on it was hers. Amanda's mom and stepdad confirmed that $2 bill tradition too, that each child carried one. Her mom also shared that she had spoken to Amanda the night before this horrific massacre, and that Amanda sounded happier than usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, nothing seemed like there was this doom that was going to fall upon them. Prosecutors also announced that they were pursuing the death penalty. So jump ahead once more to May 2019, another hearing, more autopsy findings, more heartbreaking, and more medical experts walking the court through every injury, every horrific detail. And yet after all of this, the one question that no one can answer is the same one that everybody has been desperate to understand. Why? Why would a man with no criminal record suddenly annihilate every single person inside that home? His own mother, his own daughter. Everybody. Now the charging documents show premeditation. The lying and weight language confirms that these murders were planned. But as for the motive, nothing. No one can give a definitive answer. So you're probably wondering the same thing that I was. OK, well, what could possibly make somebody snap like this? Snap so majorly that they wipe out their whole family. It's impossible not to look at the pressure that was building around him. Yes, I get that. His brother died, and after being on life support, there was tension in the home. There was violence against Amanda. There was this looming investigation into Christopher's death. He felt boxed in, cornered in, like there was no way out, a pressure cooker of sorts. But none of that explains a mass murder. And I'm not giving him any excuses, absolutely not. But it is one of the biggest unanswered questions in this entire case. What is the answer? And now we get to the justice, which as you know, it never comes quickly in cases like this. Because the time between the Nob Hill murders and Martin's final sentencing, it was four years and eight months, four years of delays, of waiting, of grief, of families just reliving this nightmare over and over and over again. But then, just when the trial was about to finally begin, after years of build up, Martin made a decision that changed everything. I've talked before about just how important financial independence is to me. I just think that everyone should have a bank that does more for you than just told your money. It should actually help your money work harder for you. And that's why I am so beyond excited to tell you about today's sponsor, SoFi. SoFi Plus is a premium membership that is designed to help you get more from your finances. Unlocking $1,000 or more in annual value with qualifying activities. That includes things like a highly competitive APY on your savings, investment matches, and even unlimited one-on-one sessions with experienced, SoFi, wealth financial planners. It's honestly such a smart way to just get more for your money. And getting started is just $10 a month. So if you've been looking for a better way to manage your finances and make your money work a little bit harder for you, head to SoFi.com/10ToLife to learn more. February 2020 arrives, and out of nowhere, Martin accepts a plea deal. He ends up pleading guilty to murdering Amanda, Elizabeth, Baby Rachel, Anna, and Little as Morelda. And with that plea deal, no death penalty. But as for Christopher's death, he only pleads to voluntary manslaughter. Which let's just call that what it is, right? Deeply disappointing, miscarriage of justice, horrible. Because voluntary manslaughter means that the act was intentional, yes, but that it was committed, quote, "in the heat of the moment" without premeditation. And trying to fit the death of a two-year-old into anything that resembles heat of passion or heat of the moment, that doesn't sit right with me, not even a little bit. So why even agree to a deal like that? Why let someone who caused this much destruction and pain avoid the death penalty? Surely there was enough evidence, surely it was a slam dunk case. From the perspective of the prosecutors and, honestly, the family themselves, it came down to certainty and closure. A death penalty case could have meant decades of appeals, decades of retraumatizing hearings, decades of courtrooms, delays, and reliving the worst nightmare of their lives. But with the plea, everything stops. So appeals, no loopholes, no dragging this on for 20 years, it just stops. And this is very similar to the Brian Coburger case, the Idaho 4. Regardless where you stand on that, I know the families were divided, someone in the trial, some didn't. But it's to end any sort of opportunity for appeals and having to relive the devastation. And the truth is, Martin will never walk free again. He will die in prison, exactly where he belongs. So that's when we reached the moment that everyone had been bracing for. Sentencing. It was March 2020, and families from every side were in the courtroom face to face with Martin. After more than four years of waiting, they finally have the chance to look him in the eyes and tell him exactly what he took from them. And their words, you need to hear them for yourself. Today we can find some calm in the chaos that has become our lives. Today we will celebrate four walls in a cell, and take solace and knowing that this monster will sit behind cars until the day he's so deserving of the eyes. This trauma, this crime, and the shit in my world, and the stormy happiness, and it has seeped into my heart and my life will never be the same. This is just the beginning of justice. I want Martinez to remain in prison for the rest of his life. I want him to feel the kind of fear Elizabeth felt when she was hearing Anna being stabbed to death, the kind of fear she felt when he turned to her, when it was her turn to die. Christopher would be turning eight this August. Elizabeth, 12, in October. Rachel would have just turned five in December. They've missed out on so much life and we've missed out on seeing the world through their eyes. I don't want them to be remembered for the way they were murdered. I want them to be remembered for who they are. Since they can't speak for themselves, I have a few short videos so the court can see them as they were who better to speak for the victims than the victims themselves. You left an empty hole in my heart. When you took my sister, the one that I so longed for, and who finally came around, and you ripped a piece of my heart when you took my hands where all of them. I hope you live to be 100, and every time you awake, you wake up in fear for your life. And every time you lay your hand on your pillow, you hear that last gap of breath from your mom and your baby girl. And every time you close your eyes, you see that last look on their face. Spending the life of prison will not be easier for you, no, shouldn't be. You have to remember every year, month, day, month, and second of the second, and what you did were heavily on you each and every day. What gets me every time about this case is how Martin sits there during the sentencing. He's just totally stone faced, while these families, his family, look him in the eye and tell him how he destroyed their world. Yet not one tear, not one flinch, not one droplet of remorse. Even when they played tribute videos with his own daughter's giggles, nothing. I mean, the level of coldness, it's unreal. It's hard to think that somebody is this callous and evil. And after all of that, the question still haunted everyone. Why? Martin never gave a motive, not in court, not privately, not ever. No explanation, no reckoning, just complete silence. But here's the other question. Could Modesto PD have moved faster? Just think about it when a toddler comes in with suspicious head trauma, moving slow is not an option. Specialists were waving massive red flags immediately, saying that these weren't normal injuries. The medical examiner saw the same thing, too. Yet still, nine months passed. Where was the urgency? Where was the digging? Talk to the teachers, the daycare staff, neighbors, anyone who saw Christopher day-to-day. Every lead matters when kids are involved, so what the hell happened here? And yeah, I get it. Hindsight is 2020 and legal experts will argue, you know, you need charges that will stick, you need all the evidence, you need all the proof, fine. But with those daycare photos alone, I mean, couldn't they at the very least have arrested him for hurting Christopher? Or at least put him under some kind of monitoring? And instead, nothing, then another wave of murder happens, five people get murdered? Then all of a sudden, suddenly, the system moves in a flash. I mean, special warrant, multi-agency response, it's frustrating. It is incredibly frustrating, and I think a lot of you are probably frustrated, too. Kimberly and Lauren are now living with lifelong PTSD. Lauren can't be in homes that have stairs or with closed curtains, Kimberly avoided being around children for years, because every kid reminded her of her nieces and nephews. And it just goes to show again, something we already know, but it helps remind us the ripple effects are enormous, and they are permanent. Now, yes, Martin got five consecutive life sentences without parole, plus 11 more years for manslaughter, so he will die in prison, which, honestly, good. But is that justice? What about the missed warning signs? The daycare, CPS, Modesto Police, any consequences, any reforms? From what I could find, no. No civil suits, no resignations, no systemic changes, nothing that says we learned from this. We will do better. So I filed a public records request myself. I ask for anything, internal memos, emails, policy shifts, something, something showing that the system evolved. But the DA's office denied everything. California law shields those files indefinitely. Modesto PD, just an out-of-office reply. No follow-up. It, leaving me on red, ghosted. CPS put me through a phone ring around until I finally reached the right person and got to ask my questions, but that was only one resource. So I asked whether or not there had been any internal reviews, audits, or investigations that had been conducted by the county's children services, in connection with Christopher's death, but there weren't. Nothing. I asked whether there was any record of policy changes, reform discussion, training modifications, or procedural reviews that were undertaken by the children services that maybe were prompted by Christopher's case, or by the mass murder homicide at Nob Hill. The answer? Nope. Which that's a shame. Because justice, it isn't just locking somebody up, but it's accountability, right? It's change. And right now, that's the part that is still missing here. But here's what isn't missing. Community. We know that years pass, headlines fade, but Modesto, it still remembers these victims. And that says something. The county health foundation's 30-second run for health, a 10K that Amanda loved, it was held entirely in her honor. And every dollar went toward reach out and read, helping young kids build literacy. And at Doctor's Medical Center, there's a bench dedicated to Amanda and her babies, a quiet place for people who loved them to sit, reflect, and remember. Amanda's people keep her legacy alive in such beautiful ways, and her twin sister Kimberly celebrates Amanda's birthday each year through acts of kindness. At home, she keeps special Christmas ornaments for each one of them. Amanda, Elizabeth, Christopher, Rachel, and Anna. And this year, Kimberly raised more than $2,000 for survivors of relationship violence. And I want you to hear her words. She says, quote, "I am walking this year in memory of my twin sister Amanda Cruz and her three children. They were the light of my life. It has been nearly 10 years since my light was taken. I'm slowly rebuilding that light. I too have been a victim of domestic violence. It's a cycle I have now broken. My twin didn't get the chance to break hers. I'm trying to make a difference in our community to help others break their cycle of abuse." Just beautiful words. If they were still here today, Anna would be 68. Amanda would be 49. Elizabeth would be 17. As Morelda would be 16, Christopher would be 13, and baby Rachel would be 11. But none of them got that chance. And that's one of the hardest parts about cases like this when something this horrific happens and the cracks in the system still remain. And the people who fall through those cracks, time and time again, are the most vulnerable. The ones without a voice, the ones depending on adults to protect them. So I know I've said this before, but if there's one thing that you can take from all of this, take this. If something feels off, say something. Don't assume that someone else will. Don't assume that CPS or the police will magically piece it together themselves. Whether you're a teacher, a neighbor, a friend, a family member, speak up, report it, and keep reporting it. Show up in person if you have to. Call everybody out. Be annoying. Be loud. Be relentless. And do not stop. Because the price of silence, it's just too high, especially when children are involved. So if you see something, or even feel something, say something. Thank you guys so much for hearing Amanda's story today and all of the children. And also Martin's own mother, it's devastating. It is just such a horrific massacre inflicted by this monster. You don't even know how people rebuild from something like that. How they become whole again. So thank you for hearing their story, keeping their voice, their memory, their legacy alive, and hopefully bringing awareness to a much larger issue of the system needing change and reform and accountability. Yes, these episodes are great because it does keep the legacy alive and it's a voice for these victims who no longer have their voice. But also, it's equally important that it serves as an educational tool to help generate awareness and accountability. Those are the things that so often are lacking in situations like these. So again, thank you. Until the next one, stay safe, bye.