An Arizona man has been sentenced to life in prison after starving his six-year-old son to death in 2020.
Anthony Jose Martinez, 28, received the sentence in Coconino County Superior Court Friday, where his attorney also read an apologetic statement penned by him personally.
In it, Martinez apologized to the late child's three other siblings, two of whom did not suffer the same physical abuse, but still endured long-term harm, officials said.
The child who died, DeShaun Matinez, was commonly keptin a closet at the family home for 16 hours at a time - a crime that saw the kids' mother also sentenced to life in prison this time last year.
While Martinez declined to speak for the proceedings, his attorney read a portion of a statement intended for his three remaining kids. Upon being discovered, the boy's body weighed just 18 pounds, well below average for his age.The cause of death was listed as a homicide.
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Anthony Jose Martinez, 28, received the sentence in Coconino County Superior Court Friday, where his attorney also read an apologetic statement penned by him personally
The child who died, DeShaun Matinez, was commonly kept in a closet at the family home for 16 hours at a time, and weighed only 18 pounds when his corpse was found in March 2020
'I want to start off by apologizing to my children for all the things I put you through,' Attorney Taylor Fox read from Martinez’s letter, as the latter stood stoic in the background.
'I love you all very much. I am sorry I neglected to be the father you all deserved. I wish that I could take it all back and do things the right way, and protect you from all of this.
'I am not going to ask you to forgive me for my actions, I just hope one day I will be able to make things right in whatever way possible.'
His sons' new adoptive mother also spoke before the sentencing, during which she Martinez for failing all three of his children.
“A father is the protector, provider, teacher and the first role model in life,'she said during her statement to the court.
'I am eternally saddened, Anthony, that you threw away the gift and privilege of fatherhood.
'So much has been taken from these children, yet pieces of who they are can never be broken.
'As their adoptive mother, I recognize the beauty of their natural gifts. I am here to tell you how special and unique these children are.'
Police said the couple's other two children - girls who were aged 2 and 4 at the time - were found to be healthy and weight proportionate, while the boy's older brother, then 7, suffered the same sort of abuse. He survived
Now without both biological parents, the children were not present in court, as the defense spent its time painting Martinez as a victim of abuse from his own father, which they claimed impacted his adult life.
One of them, the boy's older brother who was seven at the time, was also locked in the tiny bedroom closet along with his sibling for 16 hours a day over the course of a month - all for stealing food at night while their parents slept.
The mother of the children, Elizabeth Archibeque, last year was slammed as 'heinous, cruel and depraved' by Coconino Superior Court Judge Ted Reed, who at the time said she deserved imprisonment for 'the rest of [her] natural life.'
That sentence came after Reed conceded the former mom of four appeared remorseful for her actions.
The older boy, the only other victim of the pair's abuse, managed to survive, but weighed just 28 pounds when cops found him and his late brother in March of 2020.
He was taken to a hospital, where he recovered after nearly three weeks of treatment.
Police said the couple´s other two children - girls who were aged 2 and 4 at the time - were found to be healthy and weight proportionate.
They didn't have any restrictions at home, officials discerned, but still bore witness to the abuse.
The mother of the children, Elizabeth Archibeque (seen here at her own sentencing), last year was slammed as 'heinous, cruel and depraved' by Coconino Superior Court Judge Ted Reed, who at the time said she deserved imprisonment for 'the rest of [her] natural life'
The foster mother who took in Deshaun's siblings said his brother was 'so traumatized about food and eating' that he would 'ask every five minutes' when they would eat next and kept a 'special little lunch box with snacks that would never leave his side.'
She said it has taken three years for one of the sisters to begin to talk and that the other one 'holds the belief she carried both brothers on her back and saved them.'
'So much has been taken from these children,' she said.
The boy's parents initially attributed their son's malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills. Eventually, they revealed to cops how they regularly kept the two boys in a closet for two thirds of the day.
Presiding Judge Ted Reed cited aggravating factors in sentencing Martinez, describing the crimes as especially heinous and cruel while Martinez was in a position of trust as the children´s father.
The judge acknowledged that Martinez suffered through a traumatic childhood and that he had no prior felony convictions, but still slapped him with the same sentence as his spouse.
Archibeque, 30, briefly took the witness stand to testify on her own behalf on last year, and said she blamed herself for her son's death and fully accepted whatever sentence she received.
Archibeque and Martinez will now spend both of their natural lives behind bars ater being tried separately on murder and child abuse charges
'A huge part of me died along with my beautiful child,' she said at the time. 'Not a day goes by that I do not grieve... I am so sorry.'
'I recognize the traumatic childhood that you experienced, but that in no way provides an excuse for the behavior you engaged in toward these children,'Reed said Friday to conclude Martinez' hearing.
'I understand and appreciate your remorse, and wish you the best.'
In addition to his life sentence, Martinez was hit with another 68 years fortwo counts of child abuse and two counts of kidnapping, committed against both the 6-year-old child and their 7-year-old sibling
The sentences will be served consecutively, and also include two convictions for aggravated assault
