The mother accused of fatally stabbing four of her children and their father appeared to pray, smiled and gave a thumbs-up to cameras during a bizarre court appearance Friday in Georgia.
Isabel Martinez, 33, was arrested Thursday and accused of fatally stabbing her husband, Martin Romero, and four of her children, ranging in age from 1 to 10. A fifth child also was stabbed but survived. Daughter Diana Romero, who is 9, was in serious but stable condition at a children’s hospital in Atlanta, police said.
Martinez appeared in court Friday to face five counts of murder, five counts of malice murder and six counts of aggravated assault.
Looking directly into the court camera, she repeatedly smiled and gave double thumbs-up signs. At various points, she spread her arms out wide, put her hands together as if in prayer and even left her seat to kneel on the ground.
Martinez shook her head and then wagged her finger at the camera as the judge reviewed the charges.
“Ma’am, I’m going to caution you to cut out the display for the cameras,” Gwinnett County Magistrate Judge Michael Thorpe said. “It’s really not a good idea, probably not to your benefit.”
Martinez qualified for a court-appointed attorney, but she said she did not need one.
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SOURCE: CNN, Eric Levenson
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