PALMDALE – Magda Bermudez twice screamed “Mama, help me,” before she was found on her bedroom floor, dead from more than 70 stab wounds to the throat, chest and head, according to court testimony.
The testimony came at a preliminary hearing Monday for 37-year-old Jose Martinez, who is charged with murdering his 49-year-old girlfriend on Sept. 20, 2014 at her Palmdale home.
Three civilian witnesses and a sheriff’s homicide detective gave testimony at the hearing, which took place inside an Antelope Valley courtroom.
Speaking through a Spanish interpreter, Maria Bermudez testified that she didn’t agree with the relationship between her daughter and Martinez.
“It wasn’t like they were meant for each other,” Maria Bermudez said.
On Sept. 20, 2014, Maria Bermudez twice called deputies to the home she shared with her daughter, Magda Bermudez, and grandson in the 38000 block of Third Street East, according to her testimony. She said she initially called 9-1-1 because she wanted both Magda Bermudez and Martinez to leave the home. Deputies responded to the call but ended up leaving, because Magda Bermudez closed the door so they could not enter, Maria Bermudez testified.
She said she was outside the home when she heard the screams – “Mama, help me!” two times – and then silence.
Maria Bermudez testified that she walked around the house to a back bedroom window, and that’s when she saw her daughter.
“I saw that she was lying down in blood,” Maria Bermudez testified. She said she called 9-1-1 for the second time, and she noticed her daughter’s Nissan Altima missing.
When deputies responded to the home, they forced entry through a locked bedroom door to get to Magda Bermudez, according to testimony by Detective Steve Rubino of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau.
“There was so much blood, you could tell she had been stabbed multiple times,” Rubino testified. He said Magda Bermudez was lying on the floor, and a knife was embedded in the floor next to her head. An autopsy later revealed that Magda Bermudez had suffered more than 70 stab wounds to her throat, chest and head, said Rubino.
After his girlfriend’s death, Martinez showed up at a relative’s home and said he and Magda Bermudez had gotten into a fight and he “had to do it,” a civilian witness testified Monday.
“He said, ‘she’s never gonna bother us anymore,’” the witness testified.
Martinez was arrested around 11:10 p.m. on Sept. 20, 2014, according to LASD inmate records. Days later, he was charged with murder.
Following his preliminary court hearing Monday, Martinez was ordered to stand trial on one count of murder with the allegation that he used a knife in the killing. Martinez has prior felony convictions for two separate counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of robbery in 2001 and extortion in 2010, according to the felony complaint.
If convicted as charged, he faces a maximum sentence of life in state prison. He is due back in court Monday, Jan. 26.
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Palmdale man pleads not guilty to stabbing, killing girlfriend
grey eyed girl says
This is why I havent remarried, too much violence against women. I had to get rid of my abusive ex husband after I had to use a frying pan to defend myself against my now ex husband…so many men lack loyalty to women and have a crappy sense of entitlement.
callitasitis says
Law enforcement always gets blamed for their actions or lack of actions. Sometimes it is not the abused person that calls the cops, but someone else (neighbor/ child/ friend/ parent). They (L.E.) get calls from third parties (non-911 calls) but they cannot act on the information because the ABUSED is not reporting it. The criminal justice system depends on people taking charge of their situation. The system is not perfect but that is what we have. If you do not want the headaches and loss of freedom (or Life) do not “hook up” with a violent person (personal responsibility), news flash “you” cannot fix them. If you really want to get away from the ABUSER do not have their children, the children will be used to control the ABUSED. I do not know if abusive behavior is covered in the high school curriculum (sex education) but I think it should be added.
soapbox superman says
This sounds erroneous…how could the mother hear screaming from outside and go to the window of the room and then notice the car was missing?…the sequence of events that she testified seem a bit of a reach…this guy already admitted to someone that he did what he had to do…but if they bind him over to trial on a perjed statement…there is a possibility of a dismissal…that would be terrible… I understand you do not like the guy…but dont purge yourself when you want justice for your daughter…this guy needs to pay for his crime…
Mrs V says
I’ve been a victim but I defended myself against him after he assaulted me while holding my then 4 month old child. I’ve gotten courts involved to the point my abuser was removed from this country & relinquished all parental rights to our daughter. Ladies please stand up for yourselves, there’s help. I did it on my own but recently found out about time for change foundation. Nobody deserves to be abused. God bless you women
UNIDENIFIED says
THIS IS TRUE PALMDALE SHERRIFFS AT THEIR FINEST!! THEY CAME TO THE HOUSE AND LEFT BECAUSE THEY GOT A DOOR SHUT IN THEIR FACE????? ARE YOU [removed] KIDDING ME??? THEY SHOULD BE THE ONES ON TRIAL, FOR LETTING MY FRIEND BE MURDERED. WHO THE [removed] LEAVES AN “ELDERLY” WOMAN, WHO IS THE OWNER OF A HOME, LOCKED OUT OF HER HOME, WHILE A VIOLENT DISTURBANCE IS GOING ON INSIDE, BECAUSE THEY GET THE DOOR SHUT ON THEM???? ALL THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THEY WOULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING THE FIRST TIME THEY WERE CALLED TO THE HOUSE!! UN-[removed]-BELIEVABLE!!
Ashley says
This is a double edged sword, if the officer would have forced entry than he would have been entering without a search warrant and the residents would have claimed unlawful entry into the home in nothing was going on.
The shut the door indicating that they didn’t want or need the Sheriff’s services.
The mother never says that she was locked out and that’s why she called the Sheriff’s they wouldn’t have left her locked outside if that was the case. It says that when her daughter was killed she was outside.
The Sheriff’s get a bad wrap if they do the right thing they are wrong and if they do the wrong thing they are wrong they can never win.
Magda should have let the police in if she was fearful for her life or if it was a bad situation but she didn’t that was her choice not the officers.
She made the choice to have this man in her life and in her home, did she deserve to die? NO not at all.
But it isn’t okay to lay the blame anywhere else but where it belongs and that is with Jose Martinez.
Nancy P says
I so agree with you. The elderly woman (homeowner) called them for a reason. She wanted them removed from her home, and the cops left? Wow
Just Saying says
If robbery, extortion and 2 felony assaults sounds like your boyfriends past, expect it in your future.
bird says
Domestic violence is pandemic! My heart breaks just a little more every time this happens. Thirty years ago my then husband hunted me down after I left him for the fourth time and tried to murder me. I had several feet of my intestines removed, a ruptured kidney, and many more injuries too numerous to mention. My strength comes from a loving God. My prayers are for the family; I understand this pain.
karen says
How sad. So many stories these days of abuse and murder. Prayers for the family. They tried getting help. It’s a shame things aren’t looked at more seriously by our legal system. Too many loop holes.
Tammy says
Agreed Karen. Indeed.