Carly Martinez Remembered: 10th Anniversary
By Stephanie Valle
EL PASO — January 15th marked the 10-year anniversary of the disappearance of Carly Martinez, an 18-year-old NMSU student from El Paso.
Her body was found two months later in the desert; she had been sexually assaulted, beaten and murdered. The tragedy stunned and saddened the entire borderland community.
An event like this either tears families apart or binds them closer together; in the case of Carly Martinez’ family, it brought an entire community together.
“My daughter was abducted, raped, and murdered,” said Carly’s father, Carlos. “An incident like this can paralyze a family because you don’t know what to do. You have no experience in finding a young lady who has disappeared.”
The two suspects arrested and convicted of Carly’s murder led investigators to her body in the desert. Rather than allowing the sadness, anger and raw emotions envelop him, Martinez said he decided to allow others to see his pain and learn from it.
“I needed to show the family I had the strength and leadership,” he said.A mosaic in honor of Carlywas erected aspart of the Crime Victims Memorial at Marwood Park. The park is the site where the Martinez family helps hold the annual Carly Martinez Race for Awareness.
Rebecca Orndorf, with S.T.A.R.S.,the organization that helps victims of sexual assault and their families, coordinatedwith theMartinez family to keep the race continuing eachyear. She agreed that their efforts and Carly’s memory hashad a profound impact on awareness of victims of sexual violence.
“It’s sad to say something like this had to happen in order to bring about awareness, and to bring sexual violence to the forefront, but it did. It brought it out in the open. It wasn’t something that generally was discussed,” Orndorf said.
Carlos Martinez and his family said they often reminisce about Carly; they welcome anything that reminds them of their daughter. He has often talked about the strength his faith has given him in continuing to reach other people affected by tragedy.
