AURORA, Colo. — A 21-year-old man accused of killing three members of his family in December will need to pay a $9 million cash bond in order to get out of jail.
Christopher Martinez is being held on three first-degree murder charges related to the deaths of his half-brother, his half-sister and his mother on Dec. 10.
The victims, Marisol Espindola, 18, Kaiden Casteneda, 18, and Estancia Martinez, 41, were found dead inside a home in the 1500-block of South Evanston Street in Aurora.
During a hearing on Monday, a judge set Martinez's bond at $9 million because she said there are significant community safety concerns based on journal messages and statements about what he would do if he got out of jail.
Martinez was eligible for bail after a Colorado Supreme Court ruling last week that clarified that the abolition of the death penalty in the state means there are also no longer "capital offenses." Previously, any crime considered a capital offense was ineligible for bail.
Martinez' father, who is also the father of Casteneda, asked the judge to make sure Martinez didn't get out of jail during Monday's hearing.
"I love him so much 'cause he's my son, but I hate for what he did so I hate him for that, but I don't hate him as my son," Michael Castaneda said. "I hate what he did. It sucks because I got one son that he killed and the other one's still alive and I'm like why dude? Why'd you even do it?"
According to an arrest affidavit, Martinez told his grandmother that he'd had a dream something bad happened to his family, then admitted to stabbing his brother and shooting his sister and mom while he was blackout drunk.
Martinez has not been officially charged. His arraignment was pushed back to Aug. 14.
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