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In the early morning of April 8 and April 9, 2018, Martin disposed of Odom’s body parts in Canarsie Park with the assistance of his co-conspirator.
BY Forum Staff
A superseding indictment was recently filed in Brooklyn federal court charging a Queens man with murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, prosecutors announced.
Cory Martin, 34, was previously charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and fraudulent use of identification relating to an alleged scheme to fraudulently obtain life insurance policies in the name of Brandy Odom, a 26-year-old woman, murder her, and then claim benefits under the life insurance policies.
As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, in March 2017, a year prior to Odom’s murder, Martin and a co-conspirator fraudulently obtained two life insurance policies in the victim’s name. They arranged for premium payments to the life insurance companies to be made by Western Union money order and by using a debit card in Odom’s name.
In April 2018, Martin allegedly strangled Odom, and, over the course of several days, dismembered her corpse. On April 6, 2018, Martin had searched Home Depot’s website for an online listing for a “Dewalt 12-Amp Corded Reciprocating Saw,” described as featuring a “powerful 12 Amp motor designed for heavy-duty applications.” Later that evening, Martin searched YouTube using the search term “how to insert blade for reciprocating saw” and “using reciprocating saw,” which he subsequently deleted from his cell phone.
In the early morning of April 8 and April 9, 2018, Martin disposed of Odom’s body parts in Canarsie Park with the assistance of his co-conspirator. On April 10, 2018, Martin conducted dozens of Internet searches for news articles, including “Search area expands after dismembered body found in Canarsie Park in Brooklyn.” Martin also accessed a Twitter post titled “Person walking dog discovers remains of woman in Brooklyn park.” The following day, Martin searched YouTube using the search term “exclusive interview of mother of girl found in park.” After Odom’s murder, at Martin’s direction, several unsuccessful attempts to claim benefits under Odom’s life insurance policies were made by his co-conspirator.
“The defendant allegedly brutally murdered a young woman, dismembered her body and scattered her body parts in a Brooklyn park in order to profit from life insurance policies that he fraudulently obtained in her name,” said Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. “He will now be held to account for his alleged heinous acts. We hope that today’s charges bring some measure of solace to the victim’s family.”
If convicted, Martin faces a mandatory penalty of life imprisonment, or possibly, the death penalty.
“With dogged tenacity and meticulous investigative work, our NYPD detectives and law enforcement partners never wavered in their mission to seek justice for this crime victim. Now, more than three years after the malicious fraud and brutal killing alleged in today’s indictment, New Yorkers can find our collective answer in these court papers from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York,” said City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea.
“Ms. Odom didn’t deserve the sheer indignity of dying that way, no one does. Mr. Martin facing justice won’t bring Ms. Odom back, but it will keep him from plotting another despicable attempt at profiting off someone’s life,” added FBI NY Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll.
