Santiago Martinez Convicted of Murder in Wife’s 2021 Death

Posted on 11/7/2022

Defendant: Santiago Martinez

A Franklin County jury today found Santiago Martinez guilty of murder in the 2021 death of his wife, Alexandra Berrios. Martinez will be sentenced on Nov. 21. He is facing a mandatory sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

Martinez testified that he and his wife were taking a walk in Darby Creek Metro Park on March 22, 2021, when she told him she had been unfaithful years earlier while he was living in the U.S. and she was still in El Salvador. Martinez beat his wife with a log. She remained in a vegetative state until her death on May 2, 2021.

Martinez said he and his wife were in the middle of divorce proceedings at the time of the incident.

Judge Kim Brown presided over the case. Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Thomas Vaccaro and Mark Wodarcyk handled the case for the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.