Marcos Martinez is accused of the brutal murder of Vicky Ten Hoven. (photos PCSO/Facebook)

Eight months before Vicky Ten Hoven was killed  in her Maricopa home, police reports state the grandson accused of her murder had been “involuntarily committed.”

May 22, 2017, a Chandler Police officer was dispatched on a “mental health pickup order” to retrieve Marcos Jerell Martinez from his hospital room inside Chandler Regional Medical Center, according to a report from the Chandler Police Department. The report did not indicate the reason behind Martinez’s admittance to the hospital.

After placing Martinez in handcuffs, the officer transported him to a behavioral health and substance abuse treatment facility in Mesa.

CPD spokesman Seth Tyler said the mental health pickup order was signed by a judge and approved by a supervisor. He said individuals are typically “mandated” to stay 72 hours at the facility but are often released before then.

Details as to the cause of Martinez’s alleged committal and its duration were not included in the report.

Martinez, 23, was said to have lived with his grandparents in Maricopa on occasion and also stayed at two homes in the Valley where his parents are said to live separately, according to Maricopa Police Department spokesman Ricardo Alvarado.

His contact with law enforcement appeared to be non-violent prior to late January when he became the person of interest in his grandmother’s death.

Sixty-two-year-old Vicky Ten Hoven was discovered by her husband in a pool of blood on her kitchen floor on the evening of Jan. 28. Her vehicle was also missing from the home.

The Maricopa Fire/Medical Department pronounced Ten Hoven dead 15 minutes after receiving the emergency call. An autopsy conducted by a Pinal County medical examiner one day after Ten Hoven’s death revealed a brutal homicide.

Court records say the ME located five stab wounds to Ten Hoven’s head, describing wounds to her face and neck. Blunt force trauma was determined as the cause of death.

Ten Hoven also sustained numerous defensive wounds consistent with fighting back, and the ME advised officers the victim’s attacker should have scratch marks or lacerations, according to the report.

MPD detectives found blood spatter throughout the home the night of the alleged murder as well as numerous bloody knives with broken blades and handles.

The report also alleges evidence was present at the scene to support a charge of attempting to destroy evidence. A mop had been used to clean areas of the residence and a discolored comforter was discovered inside a washing machine that emitted “a strong odor of bleach.”

Despite the alleged attempt to conceal the crime, the report says detectives located a blood trail that led from the kitchen to a bedroom identified as belonging to Martinez.

MPD described the victim’s grandson as a person of interest in the case and obtained a warrant to monitor the “pings” from his cellular phone in an attempt to locate him.

Officers arrested Martinez just after midnight Jan. 30 inside his grandmother’s missing vehicle. He was parked in an industrial area near 2290 Yeager Drive in Chandler and was found after authorities were alerted to his phone’s ping from a nearby cell tower.

Officers reported observing blood inside the vehicle “in plain view.”

Authorities also noted injuries to Martinez including a freshly stitched index finger, lacerations to his left hand’s fingers, palm and thumb, and an apparent injury to his hip.

As police detained Martinez, he allegedly told an officer, “There is evidence on my phone,” according to the report.

The report also says stains consisted with the appearance of blood were found on Martinez’s shirt and shorts. Ten Hoven’s vehicle and Martinez’s clothing were impounded as evidence.

MPD is forwarding charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and unlawful use of means of transportation.

Martinez is being held on a $1 million bond in Pinal County Jail. There has been no grand jury indictment.



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