Chips, salsa . . . and murder
Woman behind firefighter hit man plot is a gushing mommy blogger: Raved abouthusband target online
Brittany Martinez has been accused of hiring a restaurant manager to murder herhusband.
The restaurant? Casa Ole, the purveyor of quality, authentic Tex-Mex cuisine.
In what is likely to become the city's next "real crime" movie, a Houston woman was allegedly recently caught in the act of murder-for-hire.
That woman, 24-year-old Brittany Rachelle Martinez, is an EMT, mom and sometimes mommy blogger. In spite of vague complaints about lack of adult interaction, she comes across in writing as your typical young mom, busy with house decorating and child-rearing (she has two; a third passed away just two months after birth in 2009). She even gushed about her husband, Houston firefighter Adrian Ray Martinez, on Feb. 21:
In the overall plan of the year, Adrian and I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary this coming October, for which we will be throwing a formal party/vow renewal. We will be able to have the wedding we didn't get to have and say our vows again, this time truly understanding what those words mean. I have picked out the dress, we decided on the venue and the rest is a simple case of creativity and saving. Eeek, I'm so excited! :)
Meanwhile, Brittany Martinez was plotting, according to the police. She offered a friend — the manager of a Casa Ole restaurant in northwest Houston — something between $1,500 and $2,500 to get someone to kill her husband.
As the official criminal complaint details, Brittany Martinez first approached the restaurant manager on Jan. 17 and later dropped off a $500 down payment on Feb. 4.
The desperate wife returned to the restaurant with a copy of her husband's work schedule (with dates March 3 and March 5 circled) and a physical description of the soon-to-be victim, along with another $500 in cash, with instructions that her husband be offed before he could notice the discrepancy in their bank account. According to the Houston Chronicle, she wanted the murder to "look work related."
The manager told Brittany Martinez that he could not do the deed himself, but would hire a hit man.
The compliant describes a subsequent phone conversation, when the
DEFENDANT TOLD THE WITNESS THAT THE PERSON COMMITTING THE MURDER SHOULD PARK ABOUT A BLOCK AWAY, AND SHOULD COMMIT THE MURDER IN THE BACK PARKING LOT OF THE WORK OF HER HUSBAND. THE DEFENDANT TOLD THE WITNESS THAT SHE DID NOT CARE WHAT TYPE OF WEAPON WAS TO BE USE, SHE JUST WANTED THE JOB DONE. THE DEFENDANT TOLD THE WITNESS NOT TO CONTACT HER AFTER THE MURDER, SHE WOULD CONTACT HIM. [sic]"
The manager (who claims to know Brittany Martinez "by name and sight" because her family frequents his restaurant) recorded all of this, and then turned her into the authorities.
Brittany Martinez was arrested on Tuesday, and remains in jail without bond for the solicitation of capital murder.
Her lawyer tells KTRK Ch. 13's Demond Fernandez that Martinez was "sad and scared to death" when she appeared before a judge on Thursday morning. If convicted, Brittany Martinez could face life in prison.
Sante's Garden Room is decorated with two olive trees.
Photo by Chris Furia