Court documents detail Gonzales’ role

Mystery man killed girl as payback for fight, Kelley claims

In the month before Victoria Martens was killed, Fabian Gonzales considered himself the “man of the house” and the girl’s protector — helping the 10-year-old with homework, taking her to the zoo and walking her to the bus stop.

Those details and more are outlined in an 18-page document released Friday by prosecutors describing the basis of a few of the charges Gonzales faces in connection with Victoria Martens’ death.

The pages describe Gonzales’ relationship with the Martens family and the days leading up to the murder, which included a pregnant woman giving Gonzales a black eye at a barbecue, an alleged mystery man who killed Victoria Martens possibly as retaliation against Gonzales, and how Gonzales helped his cousin Jessica Kelley clean up “the mess” after Michelle Martens, Victoria’s mother, had gone to bed.

According to the documents filed in state District Court, Gonzales and Michelle Martens met on the dating app Plenty of Fish in July 2016, and he moved in with her the following month.

Soon after, prosecutors say, Gonzales got comfortable there. He began bringing drug users over to the apartment, bought Victoria a kitten and let Kelley move in for $50 rent after her release from prison — all without Michelle Martens’ permission.

According to court documents, things escalated when two women, one of them pregnant, beat up Gonzales and gave him “a black eye” during an Aug. 21 barbecue welcoming Kelley home from prison.

Afterward, prosecutors say, Gonzales threatened to retaliate against the two women. He began searching for guns on a classified ads website and calling known gang members.

According to the court documents, a friend warned Gonzales and Michelle Martens the day before Victoria’s death that Kelley was “acting strangely” and to kick her out of the apartment.

Instead, prosecutors say, the pair left Victoria with Kelley, who told her sister in a phone call earlier that she was “tweaking” and “hallucinating” from methamphetamine.

Kelley told prosecutors she saw a car drive past the apartment repeatedly before a man showed up looking for “Favo,” which is Gonzales’ street name.

“The man went into Victoria’s room and killed her,” the document reads.

Afterward, prosecutors say the man told Kelley that Gonzales had messed up and “knew he had done so.”

“He instructed Kelley that she and Gonzales needed to clean up the mess or she and her kids would be next,” the document reads.

Prosecutors say Kelley told Gonzales that Victoria was dead and the two decided to clean up the crime scene and bury her body after Michelle Martens went to bed.

According to the documents, the body was set on fire in the bathroom.

Prosecutors say Kelley told officers at the scene “another man” had been at the apartment and they needed to find the “real killer.”