MS-13 gang member suspected of murder allowed to attend Maryland high school

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An unsuspecting Maryland high school allowed a MS-13 gang member at the center of a murder investigation to enroll after authorities failed to alert the administration of the gang member’s suspect status.

Walter Martinez, an MS-13 gang member who at 16-years-old was the primary suspect in the July 2022 murder of Kayla Hamilton, enrolled in and attended Edgewood High School in Harford County, Maryland, without the district being informed of his status as a suspect in the case, according to a report from Baltimore's Fox 45.

"When I start from the very beginning and get to the very end, they’re like, ‘Wow, that is a really crazy story,’" Hamilton’s mother, Tammy Nobles, told Project Baltimore for the report. "And I say, ‘It is a crazy story. But it’s a true story.’ It’s the worst pain that a parent can ever get."

"She was just found with a cord wrapped around her neck and her mouth. Then just left her on the floor, like trash," Nobles added.

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Walter Martinez (Harford County States Attorney)

Martinez, a native of Salvador who was in the U.S. illegally, was quickly identified as the primary suspect and was detained by police, with surveillance video and an audio recording placing the gang member at the scene of the crime.

"They knew he was guilty. They just needed that DNA to really lock it in," Nobles said.

According to the Fox 45 report, Martinez was read his Miranda Rights and police sent out his DNA for testing, but the process took six months. In the meantime, he was allowed to enroll at the school without any agency warning administrators about the investigation.

"It makes me angry," Nobles said. "You're sitting there putting this monster into high school with other people's children, and you're putting children at risk. Look what he did to Kayla."

Martinez entered the U.S. illegally through Texas as an unaccompanied minor through Texas in March 2022, the report notes, being apprehended by Border Patrol and eventually sent to Maryland to live with a sponsor.

Police handout of Kayla Hamilton. (Aberdeen Police Dept.)

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Four months later, Martinez moved to the mobile home in Aberdeen where he was accused of killing Hamilton.

DNA results finally came back in January 2023, resulting in Martinez being arrested. He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 70 years in jail in August 2024.

The report notes that before he had been charged with murder, Maryland law allowed Martinez to attend the school and that authorities were not required to inform the district about his situation. Nevertheless, Nobles believes they should have.

"Why did you put him in a public school? I want to know why," said Nobles. "Somebody needs to be held accountable."

"We need to change the laws," Nobles added. "If you're a suspect, the main suspect of a felony, you should not be able to attend school with other children. They have virtual school and computers."

In a statement to Fox 45, Harford County Public Schools said that there was "no information in our possession that would suggest he was a danger to other students and staff. HCPS is not afforded unfettered access to information held by law enforcement which may suggest that a potential student is dangerous, gang-affiliated, or suspected of heinous and disturbing crimes."

Armed police from Marylands Prince Georges County Anti-Gang Unit question and detain a confirmed gang member of Mara Salvatrucha 13, or MS-13, April 20, 2006 in Langley Park, Maryland.  (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

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Nobles, who lives in Virginia with Hamilton’s younger brother and sister, said she is now speaking out in hopes of raising awareness about her daughter’s story.

"Imagining what she went through that day, how she felt — her last moments knowing that she was dying, and she wasn't going to see me again — how scared she must have been," Nobles said. "I want to make sure that it doesn't happen to someone else. People need to know what actually happened and what is going on. Her death is not going to be in vain."

The Aberdeen Police Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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