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Martha Gutierrez's body found in San Benito County/Iraq vet,27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez, believed to kill mom, then sister, then self March 14

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Martha Gutierrez's body found in San Benito County/Iraq vet,27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez, believed to kill mom, then sister, then self March 14 Empty Martha Gutierrez's body found in San Benito County/Iraq vet,27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez, believed to kill mom, then sister, then self March 14

Post by Wrapitup Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:27 pm

Photobucket
Martha Gutierrez

Photobucket
Abel Gutierrez
U.S. Army soldier Abel Gutierrez, 27, who recently returned from Iraq, apparently shot and killed his mother Martha Gutierrez, 52, and his sister, 11-year-old Lucero Luna before killing himself Wednesday at their apartment complex on Kern Avenue near Mantelli Drive.

Photobucket
Murder-suicide
A photo of Martha Gutierrez and her daughter Lucero Luna. Lucero was shot and killed by her brother 27-year-old Abel Gutierrez Wednesday at their apartment on Kern Avenue in northwest Gilroy.

The horrifc news that 11-year-old Lucero Luna had been murdered by her 27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez on Wednesday shocked and saddened the community. They gathered by the hundreds outside the Redwood Apartments on Kern Avenue near Mantelli Drive Thursday night to pay their respects to Lucero. Many of her friends from South Valley Middle School prayed for her and her mother Martha Gutierrez who is still missing.

Authorities have confirmed that the body found this morning by ranchers just off the side of the road of Highway 152 is Martha Gutierrez, according to Jaime Rios of the California Highway Patrol.

Police confirmed around 11:30 a.m. that the body is that of Martha Gutierrez, 52, who police believe was shot and killed by her son Abel Gutierrez March 14. Police believe that Abel, a 27-year-old Iraq war veteran, shot and killed Martha in his car then dumped her body. He then shot and killed his 11-year-old sister Lucero Luna and then turned the gun on himself last Wednesday at the Redwood Apartment complex near Mantelli Drive in Gilroy where the family lived.

While the cause of death is still under investigation, it has been said that Martha did have a gunshot wound.

Family of Martha arrived at the crime scene around 11:40 a.m. Kristll Gutierrez, 20 of Gilroy, who is Martha's niece (her brother's daughter) said the family is "relieved they found the body.

"Abel should have gotten more help," she said.

"Cops have been coming to the house so many times. They would stay 10 to 15 minutes and they would just leave," she said.

GPD Sgt. Chad Gallacinao, who is at the scene, said GPD only responded to the home on Kern Avenue on once occasion Feb. 29. He said they contacted Community Veterans Project in Palo Alto, who then contacted Veterans Affairs. The interaction with police ended there, Gallacinao said, "they at least mailed him something," he said.

Dozens of local police - including San Benito County Sheriff's Office whose jurisdiction the body is within - are at the scene which is directly across the street from the Cedar House Restaurant and Bakery about a mile from the Pacheco Pass (Highway 156).

Authorities have taped off the area near a red mailbox along a residential area, visible through a short wire fence from the other side of the two-lane highway. Rios said the ranchers discovered the body this morning at 9:40 a.m. and called 911. CHP responded to the call and confirmed is was in fact a dead woman.

At the end of a scheduled press conference around 10:30 a.m. for the missing teen Sierra LaMar in Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith announced that a body has been found near Highway 152 (Pacheco Pass) and Highway 156 just north of Hollister, near the Cedar House Restaurant and Bakery.

Smith said the news came just then around 10:30 a.m. and she asked that TV news present at the conference turn off their cameras.

Smith said they did not find the body looking for 15-year-old Sierra LaMar who has been missing since last Friday. The searches were unrelated.

Gilroy police announced Sunday that they had exhausted all leads in finding Martha's body and suspended the search.

http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/crime_fire_courts/martha-gutierrez-s-body-found-in-hollister/article_90d020b4-7445-11e1-8108-001a4bcf6878.html
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Martha Gutierrez's body found in San Benito County/Iraq vet,27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez, believed to kill mom, then sister, then self March 14 Empty Re: Martha Gutierrez's body found in San Benito County/Iraq vet,27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez, believed to kill mom, then sister, then self March 14

Post by Wrapitup Thu Mar 22, 2012 3:38 pm

Niece: Body of Martha Gutierrez found near Casa de Fruta

By Bruce Newman and Mark Gomez
Mercury News
Posted: 03/22/2012 10:31:24 AM PDT
Updated: 03/22/2012 12:15:58 PM PDT

The body of Martha Gutierrez was found Thursday morning, according to her family.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith initially announced that the body of an unidentified middle-aged woman had been located, but the family of Martha Gutierrez, 52, confirmed it was her remains.

Gutierrez has been missing since last week just before her son, Abel, 27, shot and killed his 11-year-old sister and then himself. The family was notified around 11 a.m. that her body had been positively identified.

"It is her," said Kristell Gutierrez, whose father, Faustino, is Martha's brother. The family was summoned to the location where the body was found -- near the Casa de Fruta roadside stand, just off state road 152 in an unincorporated area of Santa Clara County, west of the Merced County line -- by investigators.

"We're happy her body was found," Kristell Gutierrez said. "We were hoping she was alive, but we kind of knew that she wasn't going to be. We're just happy she's been found."

Sheriff's officials would not confirm the body is Martha Gutierrez, saying they were waiting for positive identification by the coroner's office.

Abel Gutierrez's family suspected that the war veteran had suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after he returned home from Iraq in 2008. He had been in the Army and the National Guard.

His mother was last seen March 13 at 8:30 p.m. Her son's Ford Mustang was covered in blood, and police suspect
she was shot in the car. Abel's sister, Lucero, was found March 14 about 9 p.m. in the family's apartment on Kern Avenue in Gilroy, with gunshot wounds to the head. Abel Gutierrez was next to her, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police and volunteers have been frantically looking for Martha Gutierrez, a longtime worker at Headstart Nursery, but officially ended the search on Sunday.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_20231775/body-middle-aged-woman-reportedly-found-near-casa

I would like to know if Abel had any mental issues Prior to entering the Army and going to Iraq. If NOT, I blame this on that damned WAR that we had NO Business being in in the first place. I have read so many horror stories of young, healthy men going to Iraq and coming back completely f'd up. I remember some of my buddies returning from the Viet Nam war. They ALL had "issues", and PTSD. I remember it was the 4th of July and when the fireworks started, my friend was hiding in the closet shaking. Another war we had No Business being in!! This makes me Livid!
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Martha Gutierrez's body found in San Benito County/Iraq vet,27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez, believed to kill mom, then sister, then self March 14 Empty Re: Martha Gutierrez's body found in San Benito County/Iraq vet,27-year-old brother Abel Gutierrez, believed to kill mom, then sister, then self March 14

Post by Wrapitup Fri Mar 23, 2012 12:08 am

The body of 52-year-old Martha Gutierrez was discovered by ranchers Thursday morning in the rolling hills of San Benito County, about 50 feet off the side of Highway 156 near Highway 152, according to Jaime Rios of the California Highway Patrol.

She suffered a gunshot wound to the head, according to someone close to the matter who was at the crime scene Thursday.

The discovery of Martha’s body came eight days after she was declared missing, when police suspected she was shot and killed by her son Abel Gutierrez. Police believe that Abel, a 27-year-old Iraq war veteran who was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, shot and killed Martha in his car then dumped her body. On March 14, Abel shot and killed his 11-year-old sister Lucero Luna and then turned the gun on himself at the Redwood Apartment complex near Mantelli Drive in Gilroy where the family lived, according to police.

Crime scene investigators, California Highway Patrol and dozens of local police - including San Benito County Sheriff’s Office whose jurisdiction the body is within - responded to the scene, which is directly across the street from the Cedar House Restaurant and Bakery.

Authorities taped off the area near a cluster of mailboxes in a rural area at the base of a hill, visible through a short wire fence from the other side of the two-lane highway. Rios said the ranchers discovered the body when they came to spray for weeds at 9:40 a.m. and called 911. CHP responded to the call and confirmed it was in fact a dead woman.

Family of Martha arrived at the crime scene about 11:40 a.m. Kristell Gutierrez, 20, of Gilroy, who is Martha’s niece (her brother’s daughter) said the family is relieved they found the body.

“Abel should have gotten more help,” she said.

“Cops have been coming to the house so many times. They would stay 10 to 15 minutes and they would just leave,” she said.

GPD Sgt. Chad Gallacinao, who was at the scene, said GPD only responded to the home on Kern Avenue on one occasion Feb. 29. He said they contacted Community Veterans Project in Palo Alto, which then contacted Veterans Affairs. The interaction with police ended there, Gallacinao said, “they at least mailed him something,” he said.

Gilroy police announced Sunday that they had exhausted all leads in finding Martha’s body and suspended the search.

Gallacinao said that police came to search for Martha Wednesday with three cadaver dogs, in the area of Highway 156 in San Benito County, the general area where her body was discovered Thursday morning. But they found nothing.

Crime scene investigators arrived about 12:30 p.m. and police were overheard telling locals who live near the remote area to “come back in five hours” while the investigation continues.

Martha’s brother, Faustino Gutierrez, 46, said it’s an answer to prayer that Martha’s body was found.

Faustino said he is not only grieving the loss of his niece Lucero and his sister Martha, but Abel (who family called “Hector”) as well.

“Hector was a victim in this too,” Faustino said through his daughter who translated from Spanish to English, referring to how his service in Iraq changed him.

Abel graduated from Gilroy High School with good grades in the early 2000s, according to Kristell and Faustino. After graduating high school, Abel worked at Nob Hill Foods on First Street in Gilroy, stocking the shelves and helping people with groceries to their cars.

He never had many friends, but enjoyed working many hours, they said. Then, in 2008, he joined the Army because “he wanted to be someone in life,” Kristell said.
He trained in Tacoma, Washington for one year, and then spent four years on the frontline in Iraq, Faustino said. While in Iraq, he wrote to Martha often.

One month ago, Abel moved into the Redwood Apartments with Faustino, Martha and Lucero while on furlough from the Army. He was on medication for post traumatic stress disorder, though the family was not sure what type of medicine he was using – and was planning on serving another tour in Iraq after being evaluated.

Lucero’s memorial service is scheduled for today at Habing Family Funeral Home. The service is open to the community.

Faustino said he is thankful for the support of people in Gilroy, especially the children of Redwood Apartments who have raised more than $6,000 by standing on corners and in front of grocery stores, asking for donations for Lucero’s funeral expenses.

The news that Martha’s body had been located came at the end of a scheduled press conference about 10:30 a.m. Thursday for missing teen Sierra LaMar in Morgan Hill when Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith announced that a body has been found near Highway 152 (Pacheco Pass) and Highway 156.

Smith said the news came just then about 10:30 a.m. and she asked that TV news present at the conference turn off their cameras.

Smith said they did not find the body looking for 15-year-old Sierra LaMar who has been missing since last Friday. The searches were unrelated.

http://www.morganhilltimes.com/news/crime_fire_courts/body-of-missing-mother-found/article_f3f7f884-7485-11e1-b208-001a4bcf6878.html
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