FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - The parents of a 6-year-old child facing murder and other charges in his death initially attributed his malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills before telling police they kept the boy and his older brother in a closet and gave them little to eat, police records released Thursday showed.
Elizabeth Archibeque, 26, and Anthony Martinez, 23, and the child’s grandmother, 50-year-old Ann Marie Martinez, each remained jailed on a $3 million cash bond. Complaints filed Wednesday in Flagstaff Justice Court accuse the three of murder, kidnapping and physically abusing the boy and his 7-year-old brother over the past year.
A public defender for Archibeque, Steve Harvey, said she will plead not guilty in the case and she cannot post the bond. The legal defender office said it had not named attorneys yet for Ann Marie and Anthony Martinez because it’s awaiting paperwork on the cases.
Police spokesman Sgt. Charles Hernandez said authorities are working to fill gaps in the family’s story, and confirm spellings of names, timelines and the parents’ relationship. The immediate focus is on the death of the 6-year-old boy, he said.
Police went to an apartment complex Monday after Ann Marie Martinez called 911 and said: “Um, yes, I think my grandson passed away.”
She said that the child was no longer warm to the touch, had stuff coming out of his mouth but that his tan skin had not changed color, according to the recording of the 911 call released in response to a records request from The Associated Press and other media outlets.
When asked what happened, she told the dispatcher: “The only thing, he gets into stuff he’s not supposed to. We don’t know if he got into something, we don’t know.”
When police arrived, the boy’s parents were emotional, crying and having trouble speaking, according to the reports. One officer noted the child appeared to have been dead for a few hours.
Authorities estimated the boy weighed 30 lbs (13.5 kilograms) - below average for his age - and said he had small bone structure.
Anthony Martinez told officers that the boy had a birth defect and a urinary tract infection that kept him from gaining weight, records said. He said he threw out some diet pills after he saw one fall out of his son’s pocket a week earlier.
Martinez also told officers the family was on a budget and was awaiting food stamps to buy more fatty food for the boy. Elizabeth Archibeque told police the boy was “fed a lot” but gained little weight.
Police wrote in a probable cause statement that the parents and grandmother initially weren’t forthcoming. “None of the parties inside the apartment were able to tell exactly what happened,” one officer wrote in a report.
Eventually, the parents told police they kept their 6- and 7-year-old sons in a closet for 16 hours a day over the past month, giving them only oatmeal and a cheese sandwich each daily. The confinement was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept, they said.
Ann Marie Martinez said she was aware of the boy’s condition and disciplined them for taking food without permission.
Elizabeth Archibeque told police she last heard the boys talking to each other on a bedroom floor where they slept around 8 a.m. Hours later, she said both boys were underneath some blankets but one hadn’t woken up.
Anthony Martinez said he took the 6-year-old into the living room where police found him. An autopsy report is pending.
Arizona Department of Child Safety personnel took custody of the 7-year-old boy, who police say also was malnourished, and two other siblings, ages 4 and 2.
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