A memorial for a 10-year-old girl who police said was sexually assaulted, strangled then dismembered is seen at an Albuquerque, N.M., apartment building Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. On the day the girl was going to celebrate her 10th birthday, she was found dead Wednesday in her family's apartment by Albuquerque police, her dismembered remains lying under a burning blanket. The girl's mother, 35-year-old Michelle Martens, her 31-year-old boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, and his 31-year-old cousin, Jessica Kelley, are facing charges. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)
This Aug. 25, 2016 booking photo provided by the Metropolitan Detention Center shows Fabian Gonzales. Albuquerque police are charging Gonzales along with two other people in the death of a 10-year-old girl a killing called "unspeakable" by the state's governor. Officer Tanner Tixier said in a news release Wednesday, Aug. 24, that charges are being filed against Gonzales, Michelle Martens, and Jessica Kelley. (Metropolitan Detention Center via AP)
This Aug. 25, 2016 booking photo provided by the Metropolitan Detention Center shows Michelle Martens. (Metropolitan Detention Center via AP)
The girl’s mother and her boyfriend have also been arrested.
“This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career,” Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden Jr. said, according to CBS News.
The father of Victoria’s half-brother said he’s puzzled over the death. “This tragedy has left my client in disbelief. He’s cooperating with investigators in every way in this matter. He is and will do everything he can do to protect his son,” Jason Oetting’s lawyer, William E. Hoskovec, told KOAT-TV.
