Ashlee Anne Rose Martinson[3] (born March 6, 1998) is an American woman convicted of the 2015 murders of her mother and stepfather, which she committed the day after her 17th birthday. Martinson's case received international attention.[4] Martinson later pleaded guilty to two counts of second degree intentional homicide and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.[5]
Ashlee Martinson | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 6, 1998[2] |
| Other names | Vampchick |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Parent | Jennifer Ayers |
| Motive | Childhood abuse |
| Conviction(s) | Second degree intentional homicide (2 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | 23 years imprisonment |
Capture status | Incarcerated |
| Details | |
| Victims | Thomas "Tony" Ayers, 37 Jennifer Ayers, 40 |
| Date | March 7, 2015 |
| Location(s) | Piehl, Wisconsin[1] |
| Weapons | Shotgun Knife |
Date apprehended | March 8, 2015 |
Background
editShe remained estranged from her biological father and lived with her mother, stepfather, two stepsisters and a half sister.[4] She had moved to Rhinelander, Wisconsin with her family at age sixteen.[1]
Martinson was allegedly verbally abused by Thomas "Tony" Ayers, in the events leading up to his murder. He had also verbally and physically abused both his wife and his biological daughters in the household.[6] These details were confirmed by her younger siblings.[4] Martinson also claimed she had been physically abused and raped for a period of two years by a former boyfriend of her mother's.[1] During her interviews, experts believed she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.[4]
Thomas Ayers had previous convictions of kidnapping, sexual assault, domestic abuse and various other charges.[1] Although he was forbidden from owning firearms, he owned a variety, which were kept loaded, and reportedly easily accessible in the home.[1]
Crime
editOn March 7, 2015, at their home in Piehl, Wisconsin, Martinson got into an argument with her mother and stepfather after they discovered she was in a relationship with a 22-year-old man, Ryan Sisco.[3] They had sent messages to Sisco and threatened to seek legal consequences against him.[7] Her car and phone privileges were revoked after the argument.[5] The night the disturbance occurred, she wrote on her Facebook page "He's gonna kill her if she doesn't leave soon [...] I want to kill him so fucking bad, take one of his guns and blow his fucking brains out." Police acknowledged that the murder may not have been premeditated, as that morning she had witnessed Ayers beating her mother.[1][8]
Martinson then ran to her room, Thomas banged on her door, afterwards, she shot and killed her stepfather with a shotgun.[3] Her mother Jennifer Ayers came to investigate the gunshots. During this confrontation Martinson killed her mother with a knife.[1][8] After the killings, Martinson had locked her younger siblings in a closet with a supply of food.[1] One of the children had seen Thomas' body and doubted Martinson's denial that she had killed him.[9]
When first interviewed, Martinson claimed it was not her, but her mother, who had killed Thomas Ayers and she was attacked upon finding her mother standing over the corpse of her stepfather and killed her mother in self-defense. Her younger sibling's statements to police disputed these claims. Martinson later said she had taken the gun to commit suicide, but was interrupted by Thomas Ayers.[1]
Martinson claimed she had taken one of Ayers' guns to her room after the argument with the intention of killing herself. He began knocking on her door and she feared the consequences of him finding her with it. She then made the decision to kill him, as she felt he "deserved to die more," and began firing, striking him in the neck.[1][10] She then shot him in the head, killing him.[8]
Police were called to the scene on March 8 by the oldest stepsister of Martinson and they immediately suspected Martinson was responsible, due to the fact that she had fled the scene. After police announced the details of the crime and their vehicle information, she and Sisco were captured in Boone County, Indiana.[3] It is believed the pair were actually planning to meet relatives of Sisco in Tennessee.[11] Sisco was never considered a suspect in the case, but was charged for a parole violation.[6][11]
Martinson "fought" extradition from Indiana to Wisconsin, but was eventually brought back to the state.[9]
Trial and conviction
editMartinson was charged as an adult, with two accounts of first-degree intentional homicide and false imprisonment.[9] She later pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.[1] She later accepted a plea deal of second-degree murder in March 2016 and was sentenced to twenty-three years in prison along with seventeen years of supervision in June.[6] The prosecutors pursued a forty-year sentence, where her defense argued for eight, citing her mother's negligence of subjecting the family to the abuse of Thomas Ayers.[6] Judge Michael Bloom stated he felt Martinson's history was not enough to justify murder and her life was not in danger at the time.[5]
Martinson is detained at Taycheedah Correctional Institution, located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Since her imprisonment, she states she feels "happy" and "safe." She also received her high school diploma.[1]
In June 2017, Martinson argued for a reduced sentence with the aid of her lawyer, who cited the defendant was incapable of making a rational choice due to her living conditions.[10][12] The motion was denied by judge Michael Bloom in September.[13] In 2019, an appeals court denied her a new trial.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Garcia, Ana (1 November 2016). "-'VAMPCHICK' DISCUSSES DOUBLE MURDER FROM BEHIND BARS". Crime Watchers. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Wisconsin Circuit Court Access". wcca.wicourts.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d Uhlig, Keith (8 March 2015). "Two in custody in Oneida County double homicide". Wausau Daily Herald. USA Today. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d Shortland, Gail (7 August 2016). "Teen 'horror' blogger shot her abusive stepfather, then stabbed her mother more than 30 times". Mirror. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Egan, Leigh (11 June 2016). "Ashlee Martinson: Teen Blogger To Spend 23 Years in Prison After Killing Parents". Inquisitr. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ a b c d Dirr, Alison (10 June 2016). "Ashlee Martinson gets 23 years for killings". Wausau Daily Herald. USA Today. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ Bever, Lindsey (2 November 2016). "'I'm not a monster': A teen horror blogger explains why she killed her parents". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Bever, Lindsey (19 March 2016). "'Welcome to hell': The chilling case of a teen 'horror' blogger accused of killing her parents". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ a b c Jauregul, Andreas (11 March 2015). "Ashlee Martinson Accused Of Killing Parents, Locking Sisters In Room At Crime Scene". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ a b "Lawyer argues for reduced prison sentence for Ashlee Martinson". 27 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ a b Jauregul, Andreas (9 March 2015). "Wisconsin Teen Ashlee Martinson Arrested In Double Homicide". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Reduced sentence sought for Ashlee Martinson". Star Journal. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Boneski, Kevin (13 September 2017). "Motion to reduce sentence for Ashlee Martinson denied". Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Poltrock, Heather. "Appeals court upholds conviction in Ashlee Martinson case". wsaw.com. Retrieved 2020-10-04.