Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Man gets life sentence in stabbing

CLOVIS — Calling it “easily the most horrific, heinous type of crime,” he’d seen in 20-some years working in the 9th Judicial District, Judge Fred Van Soelen on Tuesday sentenced Lorenzo Martinez to life in prison for the murder last year of Mary Neal.

Martinez, 52, was convicted this month of first-degree murder and third-degree criminal sexual penetration for stabbing a woman to death and then assaulting her body before reporting himself to police.

For the sex crime conviction he was sentenced to four years, including a one-year enhancement for a prior felony, to run concurrent to his life term.

Martinez will be eligible for consideration for parole in 30 years; however, lawyers pointed out in court that given his age, health issues and the parole board’s history, the sentence is likely a life term.

Van Soelen said he was additionally disturbed by “the almost euphoric attitude that (Martinez) displayed in having just committed this horrific crime,” referring to video from an interview shown to jurors during trial.

Martinez declined to speak during the hearing, which he attended in an orange jumpsuit and chains beside his defense counsel, Gary Mitchell.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover said Mary Neal’s son, Fredrick, attended portions of the trial but chose not to attend the sentencing, citing “the emotional toil of hearing and seeing what happened to his mother.”

Van Soelen agreed with the lawyers that “obviously (Martinez) has some mental health issues;” Stover was hopeful that Martinez could get the treatment he needed in the Department of Corrections, and Mitchell less so.