The body of a woman who was last seen with a guy she met at Costco at a Seattle Mariners game has been found in Renton, Washington.
KOMO News says that the body of Leticia Martinez-Cosman, who was 58 years old, was found in a ditch on the side of a road in a rural part of Renton last week.
According to KING 5, the King County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that Ms. Martinez-Cosman was the person who died and said she was strangled.
BREAKING: @SeattlePD tell @komonews they responded to this Renton culdesac in relation to the Leticia Martinez-Cosman case and they DID FIND A BODY here. An identity of the body hasn't been released yet. This spot is only a mile from where Leticia's son escaped being kidnapped pic.twitter.com/MIYJv2U64s
— Ryan Simms (@RyanTVnews) April 12, 2023
Ricardo Martinez, Ms. Martinez-Cosman’s brother, told KOMO News that finding her “was a complete relief.”
Mr. Martinez said, “Just to know we have her and can take her back to see her mom and family.” “I don’t know where I’d be or how I’d feel if we didn’t find her, but this has changed my whole life.”
Last seen on March 31, Ms. Martinez-Cosman was at a baseball game at T-Mobile Park with a man named Brett Michael Gitchel. While they were at the game, they took a picture together, which Ms. Martinez-Cosman then sent to a friend.
Mr. Gitchel and Ms. Martinez-Cosman may have met on March 19 at a Costco in south Seattle. Documents that KOMO News got say that she was with the same friend she texted when she met Mr. Gitchel.
Mr. Martinez told the King County Sheriff’s Office that his sister had gone missing two days after the game.
Martinez’s Son Was Also Beaten on the Same Day
Patrick Cosman, Ms. Martinez-Cosman’s adult son with special needs, was beaten and almost taken by Mr. Gitchel on the same day, but he got away.
KOMO News got court papers that show Mr. Gitchel told Patrick that his mother had been in an accident and that he was going to take Patrick to the hospital to see her. After not knowing how long he drove around, Mr. Gitchel got out of the car, got back in, and tried to cover his face and neck with something he didn’t know what it was.
Mr. Gitchel was too strong for Ms. Martinez-Cosman’s son, so he got out of the car to call 911.
Mr. Martinez started a GoFundMe page that says Patrick went to his uncle’s house “distressed” and said he had been attacked and almost taken.
People got court papers that say Ms. Martinez-Cosman’s Honda CRV was found on fire hours after the alleged attempt to take her away.
Mr. Gitchel, who is 46 years old, is being held at the King County Correctional Facility on a $5 million bond. He has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree theft, second-degree illegal possession of a gun, second-degree burglary, and second-degree burning.
KING 5 reports that the King County Prosecutor’s Office plans to change Mr. Gitchel’s charges and add a count of second-degree murder.
Ms. Martinez-Cosman’s family is asking for funds to help pay for her funeral, Mr. Cosman’s legal fees, and Mr. Cosman’s ongoing care.
“At this point, our family is heartbroken by Leticia’s unimaginable death and her son’s terrible experience. “We need your help so much during this hard time,” Mr. Martinez wrote in the GoFundMe page’s description.
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