RIP lindsay
i got this from katies journal. the more i hear/read about this, the more upset i become. to know that she suffered, not only from the abuse, but probably before he murdered her. all i can picture is her begging for her life. it makes me horribly sad. and infuriated. i want this guy to suffer. she did not deserve this. no one does. hes threatened to kill his 2 ex-wives too. luckily for them, they got out of it. and lindsay and him werent even going out anymore. she was probably just stopping by to get her things...
Warwick man held in slaying
Gerardo Enrique Martinez, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Lindsay Burke, had restraining orders taken out against him by the mothers of his two children.
BY ZACHARY R. MIDER
Journal Staff Writer
A 28-year-old man with a history of domestic strife murdered his girlfriend in his Warwick home Wednesday, then drove her car 150 miles north and crashed into a tree in Canterbury, N.H., in an apparent suicide attempt, law enforcement authorities said.
Minutes later, the Warwick police found Lindsay A. Burke, 23, lying dead in a bathtub with her throat slashed, covered by blankets and a stuffed animal, according to a police affidavit.
Gerardo Enrique Martinez was not badly injured in the car crash, but was treated for self-inflicted cuts on his forearms. Rhode Island prosecutors are trying to extradite him from New Hampshire to face a first-degree murder charge.
A notebook found in the car appeared to bear a suicide note penned by Martinez, the Warwick police and New Hampshire State Police said in affidavits. "I'm sorry for what I did to Lindsay," the note said, according to the police. "She [expletive] me over. I didn't want to kill her but I did."
Burke graduated from St. Mary Academy Bay View, and earned an education degree from Rhode Island College last year. She formerly lived with Martinez at his cottage, at 1917 Warwick Ave., but moved out a few weeks ago and was staying with a brother in North Kingstown, the police said.
Martinez, a native of Guatemala, works the overnight shift for a military contractor that operates a radar station near Otis Air Force Base, on Cape Cod. Though he has never been arrested, his past is marked by domestic troubles, according to Family Court records.
When he was living in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1998, he married Heather M. Lenhart, a Virginia native. The couple moved to Warwick and had a son two years later.
After the marriage dissolved, Lenhart asked for a restraining order. "Over the past five years, I have been assaulted and threatened by my ex-husband. He . . . stated he would kill me on several occasions during arguments," she wrote.
Once, when Martinez dropped off their son after a visit, "he called me a whore and spit in my face and slammed the door in my face," Lenhart wrote. "I feel he will do this again and again until either he is in jail or I wind up dead."
Martinez had a daughter by a different woman, Dianne C. Travassos, in 2003, and later sparred over custody with her. Last year, he warned her that trying to "get between" him and his daughter would be a "fatal mistake," according to court records. Travassos said Martinez collects knives and studies martial arts.
Although both women won Family Court restraining orders, neither went to the police to report a crime, Warwick Capt. Michael J. Babula said. Travassos dropped her restraining order. The authorities had no record of domestic problems involving Burke.
Martinez and Burke had known each other at least since 2003. She was a maid of honor in Martinez's brother's wedding. Martinez was the best man.
At about 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Burke's mother called the Warwick police. She told them her daughter had not shown up at work, and she had not spoken with her since Monday evening, the police said.
She met Patrolman John McHale at The Penalty Box, a sporting-goods store next to Martinez's house, and they went to the dwelling, a cottage clad in vinyl siding. No one answered the door, and Burke's car was not there. McHale advised Burke's mother to file a missing-persons report.
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, Trooper Christopher Rollston was investigating an odd collision at a rest stop off Interstate 93. A car with Rhode Island plates had smashed into a tree. Inside, the driver was covered with blood and mumbling incoherently, the police said. His forearms were cut open.
While waiting for rescue personnel to treat the driver, Rollston noticed the notebook on the front seat of the car, the police said. Concerned by what he read, Rollston checked the trunk for a body, then searched the area around the car. At about 5:40 p.m., a supervisor called Warwick and asked them to check on the well-being of the owner of the car, Lindsay Burke.
The police returned to the cottage, now prepared to force open the door. But they found Martinez's mother, Elizabeth Ballina, arriving at the home with a key. She told them she had not heard from her son and was going to check on him.
In the bathroom, the walls, vanity, and bathtub were covered in blood. Burke was in the tub. A folding knife lay on the vanity.
The police obtained a warrant to search the house more thoroughly, and Warwick detectives drove to New Hampshire to question Martinez.
Martinez appeared yesterday in District Court in Concord, N.H., via a video link from the county jail.
He did discuss his case with an attorney before the hearing, and he declined to immediately waive his right to an extradition hearing. He will remain in New Hampshire for at least a few more days, Babula said.
Judge James Michalik ordered Martinez held without bail at the Merrimac County Jail, and scheduled another appearance for Oct. 17.
Two red roses, bathed in the flashing lights of a police cruiser, lay on the front lawn of 1917 Warwick Ave. yesterday morning under a locust tree.
"Our community is deeply saddened by Lindsay's death," said Jayne Martin, a spokeswoman for Bay View. "Our president has spoken to her family to offer our prayers and condolences."
please, please contact your congressman about reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. this site has an email already written. all you need to do is enter your address.
Support VAWA. Please, please, use all four of those links at the top to get this act reauthorized. it expires this month. its the least we can do.
Warwick man held in slaying
Gerardo Enrique Martinez, who is accused of killing his girlfriend Lindsay Burke, had restraining orders taken out against him by the mothers of his two children.
BY ZACHARY R. MIDER
Journal Staff Writer
A 28-year-old man with a history of domestic strife murdered his girlfriend in his Warwick home Wednesday, then drove her car 150 miles north and crashed into a tree in Canterbury, N.H., in an apparent suicide attempt, law enforcement authorities said.
Minutes later, the Warwick police found Lindsay A. Burke, 23, lying dead in a bathtub with her throat slashed, covered by blankets and a stuffed animal, according to a police affidavit.
Gerardo Enrique Martinez was not badly injured in the car crash, but was treated for self-inflicted cuts on his forearms. Rhode Island prosecutors are trying to extradite him from New Hampshire to face a first-degree murder charge.
A notebook found in the car appeared to bear a suicide note penned by Martinez, the Warwick police and New Hampshire State Police said in affidavits. "I'm sorry for what I did to Lindsay," the note said, according to the police. "She [expletive] me over. I didn't want to kill her but I did."
Burke graduated from St. Mary Academy Bay View, and earned an education degree from Rhode Island College last year. She formerly lived with Martinez at his cottage, at 1917 Warwick Ave., but moved out a few weeks ago and was staying with a brother in North Kingstown, the police said.
Martinez, a native of Guatemala, works the overnight shift for a military contractor that operates a radar station near Otis Air Force Base, on Cape Cod. Though he has never been arrested, his past is marked by domestic troubles, according to Family Court records.
When he was living in Jacksonville, Fla., in 1998, he married Heather M. Lenhart, a Virginia native. The couple moved to Warwick and had a son two years later.
After the marriage dissolved, Lenhart asked for a restraining order. "Over the past five years, I have been assaulted and threatened by my ex-husband. He . . . stated he would kill me on several occasions during arguments," she wrote.
Once, when Martinez dropped off their son after a visit, "he called me a whore and spit in my face and slammed the door in my face," Lenhart wrote. "I feel he will do this again and again until either he is in jail or I wind up dead."
Martinez had a daughter by a different woman, Dianne C. Travassos, in 2003, and later sparred over custody with her. Last year, he warned her that trying to "get between" him and his daughter would be a "fatal mistake," according to court records. Travassos said Martinez collects knives and studies martial arts.
Although both women won Family Court restraining orders, neither went to the police to report a crime, Warwick Capt. Michael J. Babula said. Travassos dropped her restraining order. The authorities had no record of domestic problems involving Burke.
Martinez and Burke had known each other at least since 2003. She was a maid of honor in Martinez's brother's wedding. Martinez was the best man.
At about 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Burke's mother called the Warwick police. She told them her daughter had not shown up at work, and she had not spoken with her since Monday evening, the police said.
She met Patrolman John McHale at The Penalty Box, a sporting-goods store next to Martinez's house, and they went to the dwelling, a cottage clad in vinyl siding. No one answered the door, and Burke's car was not there. McHale advised Burke's mother to file a missing-persons report.
Meanwhile, in New Hampshire, Trooper Christopher Rollston was investigating an odd collision at a rest stop off Interstate 93. A car with Rhode Island plates had smashed into a tree. Inside, the driver was covered with blood and mumbling incoherently, the police said. His forearms were cut open.
While waiting for rescue personnel to treat the driver, Rollston noticed the notebook on the front seat of the car, the police said. Concerned by what he read, Rollston checked the trunk for a body, then searched the area around the car. At about 5:40 p.m., a supervisor called Warwick and asked them to check on the well-being of the owner of the car, Lindsay Burke.
The police returned to the cottage, now prepared to force open the door. But they found Martinez's mother, Elizabeth Ballina, arriving at the home with a key. She told them she had not heard from her son and was going to check on him.
In the bathroom, the walls, vanity, and bathtub were covered in blood. Burke was in the tub. A folding knife lay on the vanity.
The police obtained a warrant to search the house more thoroughly, and Warwick detectives drove to New Hampshire to question Martinez.
Martinez appeared yesterday in District Court in Concord, N.H., via a video link from the county jail.
He did discuss his case with an attorney before the hearing, and he declined to immediately waive his right to an extradition hearing. He will remain in New Hampshire for at least a few more days, Babula said.
Judge James Michalik ordered Martinez held without bail at the Merrimac County Jail, and scheduled another appearance for Oct. 17.
Two red roses, bathed in the flashing lights of a police cruiser, lay on the front lawn of 1917 Warwick Ave. yesterday morning under a locust tree.
"Our community is deeply saddened by Lindsay's death," said Jayne Martin, a spokeswoman for Bay View. "Our president has spoken to her family to offer our prayers and condolences."
please, please contact your congressman about reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. this site has an email already written. all you need to do is enter your address.
Support VAWA. Please, please, use all four of those links at the top to get this act reauthorized. it expires this month. its the least we can do.