BRONX (WABC) — It was an emotional afternoon in a Bronx court on Thursday after a man who killed a 13-year-old girl back in 1999 was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Last November, a jury found Joseph Martinez guilty of murdering Minerliz Soriano.
Prosecutors say Martinez sexually assaulted the girl before strangling her, and days later, her body was found inside a dumpster in the Bronx.
Her loved ones spoke out in court about the devastation they’ve suffered for the past 26 years.
“Three decades of putting on a face that deceived the world. He thought he could outsmart those investigating this crime,” Assistant District Attorney John Miras said.
Miras said Martinez thought his schtick as “Jupiter Joe” teaching children astronomy in public places would somehow prevent him from landing in the courtroom.
He was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life for sexually abusing and strangling 13-year-old Soriano.
“I just want to say that I made a promise to Minerliz in 1999, and I just want to say that today we kept that promise. So I thank everyone, everyone behind me. The detectives, the attorneys, I thank you so much just for never giving up on her and keeping her memory alive,” the victim’s best friend, Kimberly Ortiz, said.
Soriano dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut.
She was last seen alive in 1999.
The case had gone cold until November 29, 2021, when investigators had new forensic testing at their fingertips.
“A DNA sample from a semen stain on the victim’s sweatshirt was submitted and it led to Martinez. Investigators then obtained a DNA sample from the defendant, which matched the DNA found on the victim’s sweatshirt,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
This is the first case in New York City to be solved by using familial DNA.
That means the DNA from the victim’s sweatshirt was entered into a database with the hope that a male relative of the suspect would show up and help narrow down who the killer was.
“From the start of this trial, I have maintained my innocence,” Martinez said.
Martinez offered his sympathy to the family but said he disagreed with the jury’s verdict.
Minerliz would have turned 40 this year. Her father had the last word.
“We need to keep Joseph Martinez in the deepest pit of the abyss for the rest of his life,” the victim’s father, Luis Soriano, said in Spanish.
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