Warren murderer apologizes to victim's family

WARREN

David Martin read a short statement this morning during the penalty phase of his murder trial, apologizing to the family of the man he killed and telling the jury: “I only ask you to do what is in your heart.”

His statement came at the end of about an hour of testimony from three people who knew Martin while he was growing up Cleveland, including two cousins and a man who said he tried to help Martin after Martin’s mother was murdered when Martin was 4.

Surprisingly, there was no testimony from psychiatrists or social workers, only a report from the Cuyahoga County children services agency that is being admitted into evidence.

After the three witnesses spoke, Gregory Meyers, one of Martin’s attorneys, said, somewhat apologetically, “That’s what we have.”

One cousin described Martin’s father and her father, who were brothers, as having substance-abuse problems. Both cousins said they had spent little time with Martin or his older brother because they have spent so much of their life in prison.

A third witness described the Morris Black housing complex on Cleveland’s East Side, where David Martin, his brother, Ben, and their father lived, as a place where shootings occurred “every day.”

Closing arguments are set to begin before lunch, and the jury will begin deliberating whether to recommend a death sentence for Martin after that.

For more on this story, please see Thursday's Vindicator or vindy.com.