Detroit serial killer DeAngelo Martin gets 45 to 70 years in prison for murders of 4 women
DETROIT (FOX 2) - On Thursday, DeAngelo Martin, who terrorized Detroit's east side in 2019 and killed four different women, will spend at least 45 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to second-degree murder charges.
Martin pleaded guilty in early September to the murders of four women and the rape and sexual assault of 10 others. As part of his plea agreement, he will be sentenced to between 45 and 70 years in prison for each count, which will be served concurrently.
The 37-year-old was bound over for trial for the four murders on August 20, 2020, and was expected to go before a jury in September this year. Instead, a plea deal was reached and was sentenced Thursday afternoon in Wayne County.
During the sentencing, family members spoke about how their lives have changed. Among the family members was Gary Harrison, the father of Nancy Harrison.
"We miss Nancy. Nancy had a little problem, but she owned her own home, paid all of her bills, and every once in a while she'd go over to Detroit. That's where her mistake was," Gary said.
He said his daughter will never know his grandkids, both of whom were born after her murder and ended his remarks like this:
"Whatever happens here today, I hope the best. I hope Bubba'll get ya," he said.
Martin was arrested after police were notified to a decomposing body found inside a vacant Detroit home on June 5, 2019, on Mack Avenue. However, he's also been linked to murders on Winthrop Street in February 2018, two killings in March 2019 on Coventry Street and Linnhurst Street.
When Martin was bound over for trial, he was charged with killing Annetta Nelson, 57, Nancy Harrison, 52, Trevesene Ellis, 55, and Tamara Jones, 55 - all from Detroit.
Harrison's brother, Timothy, spoke next and said that he was bitter about what Martin did.
"It's been a rough 3.5 years. Every day, we think about Nancy. This gentleman here knows my sister. He knew my sister. He knew Nancy had a heart. Shame on him," Timothy said. "I'm going to say a prayer for this gentleman. I'm bitter. Very much so."
Harrison's daughter, Lisa Hohnstreiter, was the last of her family to speak and talked for the longest. She said the state should have the death penalty.
"I've waited three years for this day. The day that you rot in hell, DeAngelo Martin - exactly where you belong. You're the perfect example of why Michigan should have the death penalty," she said.
In the three years since her mom's murder, Hohnstreiter said she's had two daughters but Martin made it so that they will never meet her mother.
"What you did to my mom isn't fair," she said. "My mom is with me today and I know that. The plea deal gives you hope that you may get out of hell one day. You don't deserve to see daylight for another day in your life. You should be getting life; giving you no hope to ever get out of hell. I hope you rot in hell for eternity."
The daughter of another victim, Travesene Ellis, spoke next and told the court that she has prayed for mercy for Martin.
"I was afraid to live, but I said a prayer for myself and for my family. I also said a prayer for Mr. Martin. I pray that God has mercy on your soul," Latrease Ellis said. "We all have things we're not proud of but I want to be forgiven one day, too."
The last family member to speak was Anita Nelson Reed, the twin sister of Anetta Nelson. Anita said her sister was intelligent but had an illness and a ‘demon called crack’.
She said her sister may have struggled but was not homeless.
"She survived. She had family members who loved her and looked after her," Anita said. "I'm grateful for the man who found her in the house - black and blue, bloody in her face pants pulled down, raped, strangled, and murdered in that vacant and abandoned house."
Anita finished her statement by asking the judge to throw away the key.
The last person to speak in court was Martin, himself. Who, in a very brief and barely audible statement, said that it was ‘not his wrong-doing’.
But the judge reminded him of his plea deal and the evidence against him before sentencing him to 45 to 70 years in prison.
Martin had been connected to two other murders - Deborah Reynolds and Yvonne Cobern - but he was never charged in the homicides.
BACKGROUND: Victim's family says it took too long for DeAngelo Martin to be charged with murders
Martin's alleged crimes detailed in hearings and filings shocked the victim's family when he appeared in court in 2019. Family of Harrison said at the time they believed it took authorities too long to arrest and charge Martin.
Below, you can view an interactive timeline that includes links from the FOX 2 archives.