A man in the grisly slaying last year of his girlfriend at a Lakewood motel has been sentenced to 36 years in prison, prosecutors say.
Leonard Martinez, 22, was found guilty in June of on Feb. 25, 2015, at the Curve Motel on West Mississippi Avenue. The sentence was handed down last week, court records show.
Chavez called her mother 30 minutes before the attack to say she was being threatened by Martinez, according to an arrest affidavit.
Witnesses described a grisly scene to investigators, in which Chavez was pleading for help as she was bleeding from a stab wound to her neck, the affidavit said.
Police say before Martinez fled the scene, he asked motel residents to help save Chavez. One man who came to aid Chavez said she was unable to speak because of the amount of blood in her throat.
Jefferson County prosecutors say Chavez’s parents got her an apartment at the Curve Motel in order to help get her away from Martinez. The district attorney’s office said he faced up to 48 years in prison.
