Brittany Walker-Martie.Photo: twitter
On Tuesday night,Brittany Martie, 30, died after tryingto stop her 10-month-old son’s noncustodial father from allegedly abducting their son.
Police issued an AMBER Alert for Abel, who was found “in good health” early Wednesday morning after officers received a report of an abandoned child 11 miles away from where he’d been taken, according to Peoria Police.
An alert for Martie’s car, a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country minivan, was also sent out. The vehicle was found abandoned at a location just four miles away from Abel.
Maes was eventually located and taken into custody after a short foot chase with police. He was initially charged with manslaughter, but now faces charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping, Peoria police announced Thursday.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Speaking to theRepublic, Martie’s longtime friend, Melanie Cowan, said the 30-year-old was goofy, caring and strong.
“She was this sweet, tiny, cute little thing, but she had strength like five times that,” Cowan told the paper. Cowan recalled meeting Maes while the pair dated.
“It was hard to talk to her the last few months because of Eric, and I know that he cut her off from everybody and I never knew if it was her I was talking to or it was going to be him,” Cowan said, according to theRepublic.
Most recently, Cowan said Martie had taken steps to care for herself and her son, including starting a new job and finding a new safe place to live. But in the end, that love and dedication for her son would also lead to her death.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
