Real estate agent's killer grew up in abuse, served 3 tours in Iraq, awarded Purple Hearts

YOUNGSTOWN

Attorneys for the man facing life in prison with no parole for the murder of a real-estate agent say his past military service and troubled childhood must be taken into account when he is sentenced today.

Robert Brooks, 29, a recipient of two Purple Heart medals for Army service in Iraq, is the first of two men to be sentenced for the murder of real-estate agent Vivian Martin on the East Side on Sept. 20, 2010. Police say she was strangled after being lured to a Nelson Avenue home she was showing and then the home was set afire to cover up the crime.

Grant Cooper, 29, will be sentenced Thursday for his role in Martin’s death. Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of

29 years for Cooper, the man court documents show strangled

Martin.

Brooks pleaded guilty as jury selection began Sept. 19 before Visiting Judge Lee Sinclair to charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated arson and kidnapping; and additional counts of aggravated robbery and kidnapping for a similar incident in Boardman on Sept. 15, 2010. The victim in that case was not killed.

Brooks was facing the death penalty for Martin’s death, but prosecutors agreed not to seek it in exchange for his guilty pleas.

A sentencing memorandum filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by defense attorneys Ron Yarwood and James Gentile late Monday detailed some aspects of Brooks’ life before he killed Martin.

Brooks’ attorneys have said they seek a sentence that is less than life in prison with no parole. Today’s hearing is expected to last almost the entire morning.

The memorandum said Brooks’ childhood was one where he and his family constantly wandered trying to escape from his abusive father, who was so bad that the family changed its names and Social Security numbers to avoid him. His mother cares for him, but she was unable to give him any direction in his childhood because of her extensive mental illness, the memorandum said.

In high school, there was an unnamed incident that had Brooks referred to the Wisconsin National Guard Academy and he liked it so much that he decided to join the military, the memorandum said. He joined the Army, where he served for more than four and a half years as a combat engineer, including three tours in Iraq.

Read more about his background in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.