State wants Google to release records in Victoria Martens case; girl given meth, then raped and killed

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- (KRQE) -- The Bernalillo County District Attorney's office is getting ready for three high-profile trials in Albuquerque in the murder case of Victoria Martens.

KRQE News 13 spoke with the D.A. and got a glimpse of the work a small staff has to get done in order to be ready for trial. In this case, some of the work includes a fight with Google.

“This office receives almost 9,000 felony referrals every year and we got 55 felony attorneys,” D.A. Raul Torrez said. “We do have some high profile cases on the horizon.”

One of those cases is the murder of 10-year-old Victoria Martens. Victoria's own mother, Michelle Martens, her boyfriend Fabian Gonzales, and his cousin, Jessica Kelley, are accused in the crime that shocked the entire state in 2016.

All three will be tried individually starting in July. Until then, it's up to prosecutors to build a case.

“They're doing everything they can to meet with witnesses, work with law enforcement and identify any other piece of information,” Torrez said.

Wednesday alone, the state filed 14 notices to interview witnesses in the case.

Friday, prosecutors also filed an application asking a judge to order Google to hand over information and records from the three defendants' Gmail accounts. Prosecutors believe the accounts will show Google searches, from the morning of the murder, of maps, images and terms that could be relevant to the case.

Last month District Court Judge Charles Brown signed a “stipulated order” instructing Google to release the records by December 30, 2017. Google declined.

According to court records, Google declined to give up the records saying the state did not give enough background into the case.