ID's A Time to Kill: What happened to Landy Martinez?

A 21-year-old man of Cuban origin named Landy Martinez was found shot to death inside a St. Petersburg, Florida, home not long after authorities received a distressing call from him, pleading for help.

At the crime scene, cops discovered that Martinez had been tortured using drano and had multiple knife wounds and burns to his body. The house was in shambles and he was found on the room floor with two gunshot wounds to the head and chest. A mobile phone was also found at the scene, which consisted of a chilling video shot before the killing.

The ensuing investigation focused on the love life of the gay man, eventually focusing on his ex-boyfriend Jose Adame, who was later found guilty of first-degree murder.

ID's A Time to Kill is scheduled to revisit the 2011 case of Landy Martinez, who was tortured and murdered in a particularly cruel crime. The all-new episode, titled Slaying in St. Petersburg, airs on Friday, January 13, 2023, at 10:00 pm ET. The synopsis states:

"With two mortal gunshot wounds and tape residue on his wrists and ankles, it's clear 21-year-old Landy Martinez suffered before his death; detectives hope the victim's cellphone provides the critical evidence they need to close in on his killer."

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Landy Martinez was found dead on the bedroom floor from two gunshot wounds

Landy Martinez was born in Cuba and moved to the Miami area with his father when he was just five years old. At the age of 18, he came out as gay to the world. He then completed schooling to become a licensed nursing assistant, moved to St. Petersburg, and was eventually hired at a nursing home facility in Tampa.

According to Oxygen, his friend Gail Rigg claimed that,

"He was sweet and kind and caring. Residents loved him, he loved the residents. Eventually, he became the activity caretaker. Landy loved his job, loved his coworkers, loved his residents."

However, in the morning hours of December 21, 2011, Martinez called 911 screaming for help. He was heard frantically saying, "Help me, help me, they want to kill me!" Landy was repeatedly questioned by the dispatcher about his address but received no answer in return and was only able to provide his name moments before two gunshots were heard.

Authorities then used cellular tower data to pinpoint Martinez's location, which prevented them from getting a precise address. After narrowing down the area to two streets, they started investigating for strange occurrences that might have occurred.

An image of Lady Martinez (Image via Oxygen)

After the initial 911 call, about 40 minutes later, a concerned woman called the cops after failing to get in touch with her roommate. She requested that the police conduct a welfare check, providing an address that coincidentally matched the one from which they received the first distressing call.

Inside the home, authorities witnessed a shocking crime scene - security cameras were disconnected, the house had been broken into and ransacked. The bathroom was in complete disarray, with the shower sliding glass door broken and off its frame. Moreover, there were multiple instruments that suggested torture, including a Drano liquid plumber, a knife, and a duct-tape.

Landy Martinez was found dead on the bedroom floor, the result of two gunshot wounds, one in the back of the head and one in the chest. His phone was found under the mattress discovered, along with two .380 semi-automatic bullet casings. An autopsy further revealed that Martinez also suffered knife wounds and burns to his eyes and throat from exposure to Drano.

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An ex-boyfriend named Jose Adame was behind the shooting death of 21-year-old Landy Martinez

During the initial stages of the investigation, officials suspected his boyfriend of a month, Jonathan Galacia, who insisted on his innocence and was ruled out as a suspect when phone records backed up his story. However, he did talk about a love triangle with Martinez's ex-boyfriend Jose Adame and talked about a three-way call they had the night before the murder.

Immediately afterward, authorities started investigating Adame, who had a volatile relationship with the victim in the past and was unhappy with the conversation they had during their final phone call on the night before the murder. They also found a damning video on Martinez's phone which was recorded moments before the murder.

Jose Adame was eventually arrested and charged with first-degree homicide after authorities found blood evidence inside his mother's car. It was alleged that his 16-year-old cousin brother was an accomplice. Adame was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Landy Martinez. His accomplice was neither named nor charged.

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Follow the case on ID's A Time to Kill this Friday, January 13, 2023.