--- description: The mother of a murdered 10-year-old New Mexico girl allegedly told authorities she sought out men to sexually assault her daughter. title: Mom of Slain New Mexico Girl Sought Men to Assault Her: Records image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29eada6ab0432e47/6988a65997cdff00d86add2c/michelle-martens.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mom of Slain New Mexico Girl Sought Men to Sexually Assault Daughter: Records  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2016 10:11 PM CUT  Michelle Martens Michelle MartensMetropolitan Detention Center/AP  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2016 10:11 PM CUT The mother of a 10-year-old New Mexico girl who was [brutally murdered last month](http://time.com/4468478/new-mexico-girl-killed-birthday-party/ "undefined") allegedly told authorities that she sought out men to sexually assault her daughter because she liked watching the attacks. Search warrants obtained by the [Associated Press](http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/dad7dbb0607c4186bf375533b682f913/warrants-mom-sought-men-sexually-assault-daughter-10 "undefined") show that Michelle Martens, 35, told police she had solicited three men online and at work to sexually assault her daughter, [Victoria Martens](http://time.com/4467969/new-mexico-girl-murdered-drugged/ "undefined"), before the little girl was killed in what a police chief described as the “most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career.” Victoria was drugged, sexually assaulted, strangled, stabbed to death, dismembered before being wrapped in a burning blanket inside her family’s Albuquerque apartment, authorities said. Her mother was charged in connection with the death. Martens allegedly told authorities she didn’t set up the encounters for money but because she enjoyed watching, according to the AP. \[[_AP_](http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/dad7dbb0607c4186bf375533b682f913/warrants-mom-sought-men-sexually-assault-daughter-10 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4496330/mother-new-mexico-girl-men-assault/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4496330/mother-new-mexico-girl-men-assault/"},"headline":"Mom of Slain New Mexico Girl Sought Men to Sexually Assault Daughter: Records","datePublished":"2016-09-15T22:11:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:10:37.757Z","description":"She allegedly told authorities she set up the encounters because she enjoyed watching","url":"https://time.com/4496330/mother-new-mexico-girl-men-assault/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29eada6ab0432e47/6988a65997cdff00d86add2c/michelle-martens.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt29eada6ab0432e47/6988a65997cdff00d86add2c/michelle-martens.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Albuquerque-Girl Killed","caption":"Albuquerque-Girl Killed","creditText":"Metropolitan Detention Center/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4496330/mother-new-mexico-girl-men-assault/","name":"Mom of Slain New Mexico Girl Sought Men to Sexually Assault Daughter: Records"}}]}] ```