What did Cristian Gasca Martinez do? Texas teen charged as adult over killing stepfather of a girl he stalked

Cristian Martinez, killer (Left) and Osvaldo Casas the victim (Right) (Image via cityofhouston and GoFundMe)
Cristian Martinez, killer (Left) and Osvaldo Casas the victim (Right) (Image via cityofhouston and GoFundMe)

Cristian Martinez, a 17-year-old teen from Texas was arrested earlier this week and is being charged with the murder of the 37-year-old Osvaldo Casas.

The Houston Police Department reported that Osvaldo Casas was found dead on August 10 after Homicide Division Detectives M. Hughey and L. Lovelace responded to a shooting call outside of Casas' home.

After further investigations, it was found that Cristian Martinez was the one who had shot Casas as he was also stalking his 16-year-old stepdaughter. According to court documents:

“The daughter stopped seeing this defendant after the defendant assaulted and unlawfully restrained her. The defendant repeatedly called the daughter until she blocked the defendant’s phone number.”

When questioned about Cristian Martinez's connection to her daughter, Judith Molina, the wife of the late Osvaldo Casas, clarified:

“He was just mad that he that she didn't want to date him. That she wanted to do nothing with him... So, he was stalking her, stalking our house for days. Which I didn't know about.”

How did Cristian Martinez kill Osvaldo Casas?

Judith Molina, the wife of Casas and eight months pregnant at the time, recounted that Casas had stepped outside after receiving a call from a neighbor regarding a suspicious car parked on their street. The couple was particularly vigilant since their vehicle had been vandalized the previous night. It is believed that Casas was shot while attempting to confront Cristian Martinez in the vehicle.

Tragedy struck the Casas family as Molina and Osvaldo Casas were expecting a child, who was born just days after Osvaldo's death. After Cristian Martinez shot him outside his house, Casas died in Molina's arms. In a GoFundMe account set up by Molina, she wrote:

"Thank you everyone for your donations. I was able to lay my husband to rest Osvaldo Casas on August 20th. Our son was born 3 days later on August 23rd a healthy baby boy Orlando Casas. I will forever be thankful to each and everyone of you."

Molina also took to her Facebook account to share a video montage in memory of Osvaldo in which she wrote:

"I will always love you ❤️. Home doesn’t feel like home without you 💔. Thank you for loving me and the girls. You did everything for us you never one said no. You always made it happen. You were so excited to meet our unborn son 😢. We will make sure to let him know what a great father you were. A great husband, brother, son, son in law, friend over all a great wonderful man. You were loved by so many. I wish this was all a nightmare. You didn’t deserve this. R.I.P. 😢 babe. We miss you so much."

Cristian Martinez has now been arrested and is booked into Harris County Jail where his bond is set at $200,000.

The Casas family is finally relieved that Cristian Martinez has been identified as the killer and is being charged as an adult.

Molina, the wife of the victim Osvaldo Casas said in a statement,

“I know the arrest isn’t going to bring him (Osvaldo) back, but I’m happy he (Martinez) was arrested”
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Edited by Mudeet Arora