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| Pedro Martins, the brother of murder victim Durval Martins, pleaded Dec. 18 for anyone with information that might help identify his brother’s killer to contact police. In the wake of his brother’s death, Pedro Martins said, ‘I feel like part of my heart has died.’ (Blade photo by Henry Linser) |
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: LOU CHIBBARO JR COMMENTS
 
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identify his killer.
His twin brother, Pedro Martins, said Durval Martins, a waiter, had been walking home from the bars on 17th Street near Dupont Circle in a break from his normal routine of taking a cab home. Martins lived on the 200 block of Bates St., N.W., about 16 blocks from 17th Street.
“It’s been a very hard time for my family and myself,” he said on Dec. 18 at a sidewalk news conference his family called to seek out possible witnesses to the crime.
“I feel like part of my heart has died,” he said. “I have faith in the police that they’re going to find these monsters that did this.”
Minutes earlier, Pedro Martins and Durval Martins’ mother, sister, and niece, along with other relatives, wept inconsolably while standing before a gray metal light pole on which a photo of Durval Martins had been taped. Lit candles were at the base of the pole, and hand-written messages expressing love for Durval Martins were taped to the pole.
“I just want to ask everyone out there who has any information in regards to my brother or his whereabouts, if they’ve seen anything, please contact the police department,” Pedro Martins said.
Although police have theorized the murder stemmed from an attempted robbery, Farris said because nothing was taken, he questions whether “robbery was a motive at all.”
“Whether he was targeted because he was gay, whether he was targeted because he was walking from 17th Street, whether he was targeted for any other reason, the impact on our community is the same,” he said. “We’re all afraid. And we’re all feeling less safe as time goes by instead of more safe.”
Police are offering a $50,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for the murder.
In his letter to the mayor, Farris writes that representatives of GLOV have met with police officials, prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s office, members of the D.C. Council, and members of other community groups, “but we have not heard from our mayor.”
“This is not acceptable,” the letter says. “We need to meet with you to present our concerns personally, to hear that you understand the issues, to learn what your plans are to address them, and to see how we can all — city agencies, the police, the prosecutors, community organizations, and business leaders — work together to end the hate-filled violence that is plaguing our community.”
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