Alicia Martinez Murder Essay

Alicia Martinez murder: Did Edward Romero chop up some body parts in a blender? Denver Westword, Thursday, Mar. 8 2012 Alicia Martinez disappeared on October 24, 2010, and shortly thereafter, Denver Police arrested Edward Romero for first degree murder. According to police Romero allegedly killed Martinez by shooting her twice in the head, then dismembering her body even going so far as to put some small pieces in a blender. Some parts were never found and others missing skin. Martinez was ultimately identified through the use of dental records. Francesca Pagliasotti, Romero’s girlfriend was accused of being an accessory to first-degree murder. Pagliasotti wasn’t home when Romero allegedly killed Martinez, but upon her arrival, she found him in the garage, chopping up the girls’ body. The morning after, Pagliasotti, who has two small children with Romero, got out a mop and a bucket and started cleaning up Martinez’s blood. (Roberts, 2012) The actus reus or criminal act of this crime has to be Romero shooting Martinez twice in the head and murdering her. Romero must have had a reason, in his mind, to kill Martinez. Maybe she saw him do something or he sexually assaulted her and didn’t want any witnesses. Either way the act of killing her was the actus reus. After Romero shot her and realized what he had done was not only wrong but could land him in prison for the rest of his life, he had to dispose of the body. No body, no crime. Romero decides the best course of action is to dismember the body in the garage. Not only dismember the body but put some smaller pieces in a blender. Romero had the knowledge that he had committed a crime or mens rea. Romero’s girlfriend Pagliasotta caught him in the act of dismembering a human body in his garage. Clearly what he had done in killing the girl and what he was doing with getting rid of the body was illegal. Yet Pagliasotta did not call the police or run and get help. She instead helps Romero clean up the crime scene and act like nothing happened. Pagliasotta has knowledge or mens rea of the crime. After having knowledge of the crime she did not report the crime to the authorities, this is actus reus or the criminal act. If Romero would have shot the victim and not have known that it would harm her then there would have not been a crime. There has to be the concurrence of actus reus and mens rea together for a crime to occur. The fact that he knew he was hurting Martinez when he shot her is the concurrence and ultimately the crime. Romero’s girlfriend knew that he had committed a crime. She knew that he had killed someone and that he had dismembered a body to try to cover up a crime scene. Pagliasotta knowingly helped him cover up that crime scene without alerting the authorities. This is the concurrence and ultimately her crime. This is why she is accused of accessory to first-degree murder (Roberts, 2012).