COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Franklin County jury found a man guilty of murder in the 2021 death of his wife on Friday.
According to the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Santiago Martinez, 44, testified that he and his wife, Alexandra Berrios, were taking a walk at Darby Creek Metro Park on March 22, 2021 when she told him that she had been unfaithful years earlier while they were living in separate countries.
Martinez said that he was in the middle of getting a divorce from his wife at the time of the incident.
The prosecutor's office says Martinez beat his wife with a log and she remained in a vegetative state over a month after the incident until her death. Court records say the attack left Berrios with multiple contusions, lacerations and a broken skull.
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Martinez was arrested the day of the attack during a traffic stop. He was originally indicted in April of 2021 on charges of attempted murder and felonious assault. After Berrios died, Martinez was later indicted for murder.
Martinez will be sentenced Nov. 21 and is facing a mandatory sentence of 15 years to life in prison.
