Two people have been charged with the murder of a Connecticut teenager found wrapped in a blanket on the side of a road.
Edgar Martinez was just days away from turning 19 when his body was found Saturday morning wrapped in a comforter on Pope Park Highway in Hartford. NBC Connecticut reports.
Police believed his body had been placed there about a day earlier after he was shot inside an apartment on Magnolia Street, where Martinez’s family says he lived with his two cousins, who now face charges in his murder.
An unidentified 17-year-old has been charged with murder and tampering with evidence, while Sender Soto-Veliz, 21, is charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
Soto-Veliz’s bail has now been set at $500,000 and he is due to be arraigned Wednesday morning. according to WTNH. The minor will also be transferred to adult court.
Edgar Martinez was just days away from turning 19 when his body was found Saturday morning wrapped in a comforter on Pope Park Highway in Hartford.
Police believed his body had been placed there about a day earlier after he was shot inside an apartment on Magnolia Street.
Authorities said they determined Martinez was killed after finding gunshot wounds on the victim.
Officers from the Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions later found evidence that a crime had been committed at the apartment, along with descriptions of the suspects and their vehicles.
The suspects were located later Saturday driving on Park Terrace.
Police are now continuing to investigate the murder.
“We’re working on a couple of theories,” Hartford Police Lt. Aaron Boisvert said. he told Fox 61 of a possible reason.
“The highlight is that there was some kind of disagreement in the apartment that went wrong, that turned into a physical altercation, that turned into a homicide.”
Martinez’s cousin, Sender Soto-Veliz, 21, faces charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence.
Police say they found evidence that a crime had been committed in the apartment Martinez shared with his cousins.
Martinez’s family has said they believe the murder was motivated by money, but they said Martinez never got into trouble.
“He stayed away from parties, (he was) very friendly,” his aunt, Verónica Imelda Martínez Mayen, told NBC Connecticut.
She said the family knew something was wrong when the teen didn’t show up for work on Thursday and Friday, as other family members described him as a loving person, a hard worker and a great big brother.
“He was the person who always took care of me, even though I was not well,” said Nisma Martínez, the victim’s sister.
“I’m going to remember him as the most beautiful person I could have ever met.”