An MS-13 gang member attended Edgewood High School in Harford County, Maryland, while under investigation for murder. Walter Martinez, 16, enrolled without school administration or parents being alerted by state or federal officials to his involvement in the July 2022 killing of Kayla Hamilton. Martinez, in the U.S. illegally, was previously identified as the primary suspect in her death, and later convicted of her murder.
“It’s the worst pain that a parent can ever get,” Tammy Nobles, Kayla Hamilton’s mother, said in an interview regarding her daughter’s death. She continued, describing how her daughter was murdered: “She was just found with a cord wrapped around her neck and her mouth. Then just left her on the floor, like trash.”
“It makes me angry. You’re sitting there putting this monster into high school with other people’s children, and you’re putting children at risk. Look what he did to Kayla,” Nobles added.
Martinez, originally from El Salvador, entered the country as an unaccompanied minor in March 2022, eventually moving to Maryland to live with a sponsor. Four months later, residing in a mobile home in Aberdeen, he was accused of Hamilton’s murder.
‘SOMEBODY NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.’
Despite being detained as the prime suspect, it took six months for DNA evidence to confirm his involvement. During this period, Martinez was able to enroll at Edgewood High School.
“HCPS is not afforded unfettered access to information held by law enforcement which may suggest that a potential student is dangerous, gang-affiliated, or suspected of heinous and disturbing crimes,” Harford County Public Schools said in a statement.
Authorities had no legal obligation to disclose Martinez’s suspect status in Democrat-run Maryland, and the law allowed his school attendance. Despite this, Nobles said, “Why did you put him in a public school? Somebody needs to be held accountable.”
In January 2023, DNA results confirmed Martinez’s guilt, leading to his arrest. He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 70 years in prison in August 2024.