John Jefferson
Background: Background: Pagosa Springs, Colorado (Town of Pagosa Springs). Inset top: Charles Martinez (Colorado Bureau of Investigation). Inset bottom: Chrystal Snow (GoFundMe).
A dad in Colorado and his 17-year-old son are accused of murdering the teen’s mother just hours after she informed them she was filing for full custody of the boy’s younger brother, according to local authorities.
Both Charles Martinez, 43, and his son, Hevon Martinez — who was charged as an adult this week with first-degree murder, along with his father — allegedly made pleas over the phone with Pagosa Springs resident Chrystal Snow, 38, asking her to not go through with the custody filing before driving over to her house in the middle of the night on July 2 and gunning her down, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reports.
“Charles and [Hevon Martinez] were both aware that Chrystal Snow was preparing to file paperwork at court the following day, related to her petition for full custody of [Hevon Martinez’s brother],” says the duo’s arrest affidavit, which was obtained by Law&Crime on Thursday.
“Charles and [Hevon Martinez] both made one last attempt to convince Chrystal not to go to court and file for full custody,” the affidavit adds, “in communications both had with Chrystal on the evening of 07/01/24.”
Multiple witnesses informed CBI agents during its investigation about “the details of the conversations” that Snow allegedly had with the pair that July night “hours before the homicide,” according to the affidavit. Witnesses claimed Charles Martinez and his son had made verbal threats to kill Snow in the past, the affidavit says.
At around 2:20 a.m. that night, neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots coming from Snow’s residence. Charles Martinez was living with his mother at the time, according to the affidavit, and Hevon Martinez was staying with his aunt.
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Investigators believe that the pair went to Snow’s house in a white Ford Explorer belonging to Charles Martinez’s mother and began opening fire on the home as they entered.
“It appeared that one gunshot was fired from the outside of the residence, through the front living room window,” the affidavit says. “The victim appeared to have fled to the bathroom of the master bedroom, where she was confronted … and shot multiple times.”
After being shot, Snow managed to call police and first responders arrived to find her dead in the home. A .40 caliber pistol is believed to have been used in the shooting, though it’s unclear whether it was Charles Martinez or his son who fired the rounds that killed Snow.
“Based on the Deputy’s initial observations, Chrystal appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound to her upper right arm, a gunshot wound to her upper right chest, and a gunshot wound to her right leg,” the affidavit says. “One spent cartridge casing was also found on the floor near the victim.”
Surveillance footage obtained by CBI investigators allegedly shows Charles Martinez and his son traveling on various local roads — to and from the scene of the murder — in a white Ford Explorer, according to the affidavit.
Interviews with witnesses and friends of Snow’s, including a domestic violence victim advocate she had been corresponding with, turned up mounds of evidence against Charles and Hevon Martinez during CBI’s investigation, officials say.
The victim advocate laid out allegations of domestic abuse and threats by Charles Martinez and the teenage son stemming as far back as October 2023, when a protection order was filed by Snow after Hevon Martinez “put his hands on her throat” and “threatened to kill her.”
In her petition to obtain the order, Snow claimed that the teen was “physically assaulting her by hitting her” and that the abuse began in February 2023.
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Charles Martinez, meanwhile, had been allegedly threatening to murder Snow in her sleep, according to the victim’s advocate, and was allegedly abusive throughout their 18-year relationship.
The victim’s advocate “said Chrystal told her that Charles said he would come in the middle of the night to kill her and that a protection order was just a piece of paper,” the affidavit says.
Snow had been granted a permanent restraining order in June against Charles Martinez for verbal abuse and harassment after the couple split in October 2023, the Denver Post reports.
“It is clear, based on evidence and information obtained thus far in the investigation, that the homicide of Chrystal Snow was a pre-planned event, by both [Hevon Martinez] and Charles Martinez.”
Hevon Martinez was picked up by police for an unrelated incident days later on July 7, in which he allegedly fired a .45 caliber handgun at a vehicle during a Fourth of July event in Cortez, Colorado, according to police.
It took roughly four months for CBI’s investigation to wrap up before charges were filed this week against Hevon and Charles Martinez in Colorado’s 6th Judicial District. Both appeared in court on Friday for their advisement hearings.
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