A Nevada resident, Clarence Martin Jr., 37, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his 7-week-old daughter, London, and arson. In October 2024, a jury found Martin guilty of the heinous crime committed four years prior, in which he threw his newborn daughter off the second-floor balcony of their apartment and set the residence on fire.
Martin’s defense team argued that he was experiencing a mental health crisis during the incident and requested a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years. However, District Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Martin to life with the possibility of parole after 49 and a half years, aligning with the prosecution’s request. Kierny referred to the case as the most horrific she had ever encountered.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the baby’s mother informed the police that Martin had not slept or eaten for several days leading up to the tragic incident on October 24, 2020. She recounted that Martin had started kicking her and the baby while in bed. When she tried to move herself and London to another room, Martin grabbed the baby and threw her off the balcony. The mother discovered her baby in the apartment’s parking lot and immediately dialed 911.
While the mother was on the phone with emergency services, Martin set the living room on fire, resulting in the death of the family’s pet poodle. He then fled the scene, leaving behind a burning apartment and a distraught mother. A neighbor reportedly heard him say, “Burn, burn. This is what you get for cheating on me,” before he drove off.
Martin led the police on a high-speed chase, causing three separate crashes before abandoning his car at a nearby airport. He then entered the airport and accessed the tarmac via a luggage conveyor belt, where he was eventually apprehended. Martin was taken to a hospital for injuries sustained during the car crashes and a drug evaluation. He was subsequently charged in absentia with open murder, animal cruelty, and arson.
Martin’s defense attorney, Betsy Allen, argued that her client was suffering from a schizoaffective disorder and was in the midst of a mental health episode at the time of the crime. She stated that Martin had little recollection of the incident, but remembered feeling as though he was in a movie, highlighting his delusional state.
Martin was convicted on a total of 13 felony charges, including open murder, animal cruelty, arson, two counts of child abuse, and several counts of battery related to the police chase. London’s mother, present during Martin’s sentencing, expressed to the judge that Martin needed help.