Inset left: Addison Martinez (Chatham County Sheriff's Office). Inset right: Vida Martinez (Obituary). Background: The apartment complex where the defendant allegedly stabbed his mother to death on Wilmington Island, Ga. (Google Maps).
A Georgia man is behind bars for killing his own mother and then stealing her car, according to law enforcement in the Peach State.
Addison Martinez, 37, stands accused of one count each of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, family violence and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony in connection with the death of 59-year-old Vida Martinez, according to an indictment handed up by a Chatham County grand jury this week.
The underlying incident occurred in late October 2025, at an apartment on Oyster Shell Road on Wilmington Island, a census-designated place located some 10 miles southeast of Savannah.
On the night in question, Vida Martinez was found by her daughter, Savannah-based CBS affiliate WTOC reported.
The victim had been stabbed at least once, according to the Chatham County Police Department and the county coroner's office.
The slain woman's obituary remembers her fondly:
Vida was a dearly devoted mother; her grandchildren especially being her pride and joy…
She was a woman of steadfast faith, a collector of art, and a purveyor of all things beautiful. Vida brought endless amounts of joy and laughter to all that knew her. An eternal optimist, always with a helping hand and a most generous heart – she was a true blessing to this world.
That same night, officers found the victim's vehicle abandoned in a commercial parking lot in Pooler, a small city located some 20 miles northwest of the victim's residence. That discovery led investigators to identify the defendant as a person of interest, police said.
Law enforcement circulated a photograph of Addison Martinez said to have been taken by his mother the day before she was killed as a multi-agency manhunt ensued and officers combed the area.
Addison Martinez appears in a photo circulated during a manhunt in late October 2025 (Chatham County Police Department).
On Oct. 28, 2025, the day after the woman's body was found, her son was arrested at a Parker's gas station in the same general area.
"They had a friend who lived in the same apartment complex and had actually heard screams from the interaction with the victim," an employee at a store near the apartment complex told the TV station.
The defendant was taken into custody, questioned, and initially charged with one count of felony murder.
Just five days before the slaying, on Oct. 22, 2025, Addison Martinez had was released on bond from jail in Glynn County on charges of aggravated assault and terroristic threats and acts, WTOC reported. The defendant's bond was $178 in that earlier case. He had spent eight months in jail prior to his release.
Addison Martinez is being detained in the Chatham County Jail with no bond.
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