KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A man who authorities say wrote music lyrics about a murder after he committed it in 2021 has been convicted in Knox County Criminal Court.
A jury found Charlie Martinez, 25, guilty Thursday of first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery after a trial this week in Judge Steve Sword's court.
Co-defendant and girlfriend Kendra Ivey, 26, previously has been convicted of taking part in the crime. She faces a Monday sentencing by Sword, records show.
Martinez shot and killed Victor "Danny" Letner, 33, of Rockwood in February 2021.
Prosecutors allege robbery was the motive. Letner was shot to death near a historic 1800s-era farmhouse on Kodak Road the night of Feb. 7, 2021, and his body was found several days later.
Ivey told Knox County investigators at the time that she lured Letner to the area with the promise of sex.
When Letner got to the agreed upon Kodak Road location, Martinez, Ivey's boyfriend, fired a shot at his head with a .45-caliber pistol. He missed. A struggle ensued during which Letner was shot in the chest and a bullet hit Martinez in the knee, according to the Knox County District Attorney General's Office.
Martinez drove off in Letner's vehicle and left the state. He was eventually arrested.
"After the murder, Martinez wrote multiple sets of lyrics in which he described the shooting, flight and destruction of evidence," according to a news release from the DA's Office.
Sword, after Thursday's verdict, imposed an automatic life sentence on Martinez. He'll sentence him on the remaining counts April 20.
