A 37-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison for killing his infant daughter in 2020 during what defense attorneys said was a mental health crisis.
Clarence Martin Jr. was found guilty by a jury in October of 13 different charges, including murder for throwing his young daughter, London, off a balcony days before she would have turned 2 months old. Martin then set fire to his living room, killed his family’s poodle and led police on a car chase.
Along with murder, he was convicted of two counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment resulting in substantial bodily harm, first-degree arson, cruelty to animals, three counts of battery with a deadly weapon, battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, attempted murder with a deadly weapon, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder with a deadly weapon against a victim 60 or older, and battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm against a victim 60 or older, court records show.
According to court records, Martin has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. Defense attorney Betsy Allen told District Judge Carli Kierny on Tuesday that his mental health issues were made worse by losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mr. Martin, first of all, has very little memory of that evening, but I can tell the court that what he does remember is that he thought he was in a movie,” Allen told the judge. “That’s how delusional he was at the time of this crime.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Parker Brooks said that while he believes Martin suffers from serious mental health issues, he asked the judge to consider London and her mother, Nicole Poole.
“Nothing we do today is going to fix the situation,” Brooks said.
Brooks advocated for Martin to face life in prison with the possibility of parole in 49 and a half years, while defense attorneys argued for him to get parole in 25 years.
Kierny sided with prosecutors, ordering Martin to spend life in prison with the possibility of parole in 49 and a half years. He received credit for 1,551 days he has already spent in custody.
“I don’t say this lightly — this is the worst case I’ve ever seen,” Kierny said. “It boggles my mind.”
According to Martin’s arrest report, the baby’s mother told police that he had not eaten or slept in the days leading up to the murder. She said she woke up to Martin kicking her and the baby, and Martin took their daughter from her when she tried to move into another room.
Martin then threw the baby off the balcony. Poole ran outside and found her daughter lying on the ground in a parking area, and she called 911, according to the report. Martin meanwhile set fire to the living room, killing the family’s poodle.
He then took off in a Mercedes Benz, leading police on a chase that involved him crashing the car at least three times before abandoning it at the airport. Several of the charges Martin was convicted of had to do with crashing the car into other people’s vehicles, court records show. Martin ran into the airport, crawled onto a luggage conveyor belt and ended up in a secured area before running onto the tarmac, where he was arrested, the report said.
Poole told the judge on Tuesday that she doesn’t feel like the same person since losing her daughter. She also said she wasn’t sure what the appropriate punishment for Martin should be.
“He just needs help,” Poole said.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com
