Kayla Hamilton’s murder recorded on voicemail, while her killer claims more victims

By Ryan Dickstein

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    BEL AIR, Maryland (WMAR) — After more than two years, justice for the family of Kayla Hamilton.

Her killer on Wednesday pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 70-years behind bars followed by five-years of supervised probation.

On July 27, 2022, Hamilton’s boyfriend found her brutally murdered inside a mobile home in Aberdeen.

The 20-year-old, who was diagnosed with Autism, appeared to have been raped, tied up, and strangled with a phone cord.

DNA evidence collected from Hamilton’s clothing at the crime scene led to a teenage El Salvadorian national named Walter Javier Martinez, whose identity up until Wednesday had remained under seal.

Much more evidence was recovered linking Martinez to the murder.

Disturbingly, Hamilton’s suffering was recorded on her boyfriend’s voicemail because she tried calling him when Martinez first showed up.

Prosecutors played the recording during trial, in which a voice believed to be Martinez can be heard apologizing to Hamilton after he’d killed her.

That phone Hamilton used later went missing along with some money from her wallet.

Investigators said the stolen phone pinged near Martinez’s last known location.

Hamilton’s boyfriend also witnessed Martinez walking away from the murder scene shortly before he returned home to discover his girlfriend’s body.

Turns out five days prior to the murder, Martinez rented a separate room inside the same mobile home Hamilton and her boyfriend were staying.

Detectives soon learned of Martinez’s violent past.

He was reportedly smuggled into the United States illegally in March of 2022, just four months before Hamilton’s death.

Not only was Martinez a confirmed member of the violent MS-13 gang, but in a letter written from jail, Martinez confessed to four murders, two rapes, and additional crimes. It’s unclear who these other victims are and where their killings may have occurred.

Hamilton’s case generated national attention amid heated political debates over America’s fractured immigration system.

Things became even more contentious a year later when Rachel Morin, a mother of five, was killed by another undocumented migrant while jogging along the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air.

Since Hamilton’s murder, her family has filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (DHHS), accusing the agencies of committing “operational negligence” for allowing Martinez into the country.

According to the Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey, Maryland law prohibits Martinez from being sentenced to life without parole since he was only 17 at the time of the murder.

Healy reacted to Martinez’s conviction with this statement.

“This murder was one of the most brutal and heinous crimes I have ever prosecuted. No one deserves to suffer and die at the hands of a monster like this victim did. Additionally, this defendant, residing in our country illegally, had no legal right to be here, preying on the members of our communities, and perpetuating the same violent gang activity that he did in his own country. I commend the victim’s family for their bravery today in delivering their statements to the court and facing this murderer. I recognize that no amount of time will ever be enough to take away the pain and suffering that this family has experienced as a result of Walter Martinez’s horrific and criminal conduct, nor will any sentence bring this victim back to them.”

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