For more than six years, a pregnant California teenager has been missing, leaving behind a trail of unanswered questions. Now, investigators say they have finally arrested who they allege is her killer.
Joshua Martinez, 28, was arrested March 12 and has been charged with murder in the 2019 disappearance of 16-year-old Victoria Marquina. Her body has never been found.
Martinez had previously been arrested in connection with Marquina’s disappearance but was released at the time due to insufficient evidence, according to The Stockton Record. Authorities say new technology and information developed within the past year helped lead to the indictment.
Martinez appeared in San Joaquin County Superior Court Monday where he was arraigned on multiple charges including murder, unlawful intercourse with a minor, oral copulation with a person under 18, and sexual penetration with a minor, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office and the Amador County District Attorney’s Office.
“Today marks the beginning of Victoria Marquina’s journey for justice,” Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe said at a press conference.
“This day would not be possible without her mother’s unyielding love,” he added, referring to Marquina’s mother, who has not given up the search for her daughter.
According to San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas, Marquina, of Sutter creek, was last seen alive on October 9, 2019, near her workplace in Amador County. Her mother reported her missing the following day.
Two days after Marquina was reported missing, her black Honda Accord was found abandoned near Escalon in San Joaquin County.
Marquina and Martinez, who met just a month before her disappearance, had a very short relationship, Freitas said. Martinez was 21 years old at the time.
“They had met just about a month before her disappearance and she became pregnant,” Freitas said on Monday. “It was a whirlwind, very fast relationship, and very short.”
Martinez fled to Mexico after Marquina vanished, and was extradited back to the U.S. before his first arrest in 2020, prosecutors said, according to NewsNation.
Freitas said Monday that his office worked with multiple agencies as part of a cold case task force, which ultimately uncovered new leads.
“To the family members of cold case victims, we will never stop in the pursuit of justice,” he said.
He would not go into specifics about what led them to the arrest, but only attributed it to new technology and information became available in the last year.
Despite the arrest, authorities say the case is far from over.
Marquina’s remains have never been recovered, and investigators are urging the public to come forward with any information.
“Victoria is dead, and we are looking for her remains and the remains of her unborn child,” Freitas said. “We need closure for the family so anyone having that information of where her remains are, we’re asking them to come forward.”
Following the hearing, Freitas again called on the public for help as investigators continued searching for answers.
“We want to bring closure to Victoria’s mother, allow her to bury her child and her grandchild,” Freitas said.
Martinez, who is being represented by attorneys Allen Sawyer and Kirk Holman, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
He remains in custody at the San Joaquin County Jail and is scheduled to return to court April 6.
