Details In Manuel Vasquez Murder Case Emerge
COLUMBUS (WCBI) – Documents filed in a civil lawsuit are giving us an in depth look at what detectives think happened in a high profile Lowndes County murder case.
Paul Vega is suing the sheriff’s department, Sheriff Mike Arledge and two detectives for false arrest.
The new court filings give great detail in the criminal case against Manuel Vasquez’s mother-in-law and his wife, Christina.
<Federal court documents create a timeline of when Manuel Vasquez was last heard from to who reported him missing to how he died.
In an affidavit detectives say July, 13th 2015 is the day Manuel Vasquez’s mother, Mary Sanchez, called deputies to report him missing. Later that same day his wife, Christina Martinez, also called to report she had not seen her husband since he left on June 24th for a mission trip.
The next day detectives met with Christina Vasquez.
She told them Manuel left money to cover family expenses and planned to meet them in San Antonio.
Vasquez’s phone records also showed no activity.
On July 21st investigators got a search warrant for the couple’s New Hope home.
That’s when the remains of Manuel Vasquez were found scattered on the property.
Bullet holes were also found in the box springs in the master bedroom, bleach stains on the mattress, and new carpeting.
Vasquez could not give detectives a explanation about the bones found in the yard.
The next day deputies returned to the home where they were called upstairs, finding Lydia Martinez with a slit wrist and a suicide note.
In the note, Lydia Martinez allegedly wrote that she shot Manuel Vasquez in the head.
The court documents show she also confessed several other times, even saying Christina threw the gun used into a convenience store dumpster.
The mother and daughter were charged on July 23rd.
Another search by investigators found blood stains in the garage and evidence Martinez bought a trough that was used to burn items connected to the case.
Vasquez’s daughter also gave deputies information about things she saw, including stains in the carpet and a bullet in a dresser.
Law enforcement found the bullet, a mattress soaked in blood along with a rake and ladder with blood stains.
Other details in the documents reveal video surveillance was found of the mother-daughter duo buying new carpet and the lack of emotion Martinez showed with DNA tests confirmed her husband’s remains were found in the yard.
Law enforcement also say it investigated calls from someone, calling from a number connected to a former Columbus police officer that had called Vasquez’s family on two occasions asking for marijuana and money. The documents did not say who actually placed the call.>
as Detectives Ryan Rickert and Tony Cooper asked the court to not allow Vega to sue them as individuals, just in their official capacity as law enforcement officers.
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