Modesto Homicide Suspect Charged For 2014 Death Of Toddler

MODESTO (CBS13) – The man suspected in the deaths of five people in a Modesto home was taken back to Modesto to face a judge Thursday.

Martin Martinez, 30, was being held in Santa Clara County Jail after being taken into custody in San Jose on Sunday. The bodies of five people, including three children, were discovered by police the day before inside a home along Nob Hill Court in Modesto and Martinez was named a person of interest.

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However, Modesto Police say Martinez was booked into Stanislaus County Jail for charges stemming from the 2014 homicide case of 2-year-old Christopher Ripley.

Police revealed this week that they had been investigating the death of Ripley. Two days before the bodies were discovered at the Modesto home, a forensic pathologist released their results that Ripley died due to some sort of blunt force trauma.

Martinez was babysitting Ripley at the time the incident occurred, authorities said.

"Chris died of a homicide of blunt-force trauma; it was not an accident," said Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll said on Monday.

Police have not revealed how the five people found dead in the home were killed.

Thursday afternoon, Martinez was in court and formally charged on suspicion of killing the 2-year-old. He entered a "not guilty" plea and his bail was set at $5 million.

Martinez is scheduled to be back in court on July 29.