Mother-in-law indicted in Lowndes County man’s murder

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Her daughter has already pled guilty in the gruesome killing of Manuel Vasquez.

Now, Lydia Martinez has been indicted for 1st-degree murder.

A Lowndes County grand jury indicted her last term, after Christina Martinez’s plea back in September.

Martinez was arraigned in Lowndes County Circuit Court Thursday. She had a warrant for her arrest on a previous charge of accessory after the fact.

Vasquez’s remains were found scattered around his New Hope home property back in 2015.

Prosecutors say on June 24, 2015, her children reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot.

Christina Martinez and her mother, Lydia, told the kids that their father, Manuel Vasquez, went on a retreat.

Court documents said investigators found bullet holes in the box springs of a mattress in the master bedroom, bleach stains on the mattress, and new carpeting.

Prosecutors have released little information about the case.