A man has been sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of multiple crimes including murder in relation to the death of his six-year-old son and an older sibling who were starved and kept locked in a tiny closet. Dad Anthony Martinez has been sentenced to life in prison for the homicide of his six-year-old son, Deshaun Martinez. Along with his wife, Elizabeth Archibeque, they kept Deshaun and his older brother locked up in a tiny closet that reeked of urine and provided little food to the children which led to Deshaun's death by starvation in 2020.
Martinez has also been convicted of multiple prison sentences including child abuse and kidnapping convictions in the abuse of the deceased child and an older sibling. Additionally, he received cumulative sentences of three years in prison for two convictions of aggravated assault, which may be served concurrently or credited against time served. READ MORE: Decomposing corpse of missing eight-month-old baby girl discovered after desperate search Deshaun weighed just 18 pounds at the time of his death, was denied food, and was locked in a 21-by-25-inch closet for 16 hours a day over a month with a "foul, awful smell of urine" and an orange-coloured piece of plastic on the floor.
It was a form of punishment for stealing food in the home at night while their parents slept. During the trial, Coconino Superior Court Judge Ted Reed described the crimes as "heinous and cruel" by a father who was in a position of "trust" to his c.
