STABBING DEATHS

MOM CHARGED IN DEATHS TO WAIVE HEARING

The woman charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of her husband and four children won’t return to a Gwinnett County courtroom this week after all, her attorney said Monday.

Isabel Martinez will waive her preliminary hearing that was previously scheduled for Thursday morning, attorney Robert Greenwald said. Martinez, 33, will remain in the Gwinnett jail, where she was being held Monday without bond.

Martinez has been in custody since July 6, when police were called to her family’s Loganville mobile home. Inside, investigators found the bodies of Martin Romero, 33, and four siblings, including 2-year-old Axel, 4-yearold Dillan, 7-year-old Dacota and 10-year-old Isabela Martinez. A fifth child, 9-year-old Diana, had also been stabbed repeatedly but survived the assault. She is “steadily improving” but faces a “long road to recovery both physically and mentally, “the Romero family said in a statement last week.

Martinez was arrested and charged with five counts of malice murder, five counts of murder and six charges of aggravated assault.

In a bizarre first court appearance on July 7, Martinez smiled for the cameras and flashed two thumbs up, telling a judge she did not need an attorney. But she was appointed one anyway, and Greenwald previously said he would order a psychological evaluation for Martinez.

Hundreds gathered last week at the funeral for the family members killed. Interment for the father and four children will be held at a later date in Michoacan, Mexico, according to an online obituary.

Family members and neighbors have said that Martinez, 33, was devastated by the recent death of her father and added that her behavior changed dramatically in the weeks following.

Isabel Martinez is being held in the Gwinnett jail.