ATLANTA _ She was adamant that she didn't want an attorney. But the woman accused of stabbing to death her husband and four children in their Gwinnett County home was appointed one anyway, court records show.
Attorney Robert Greenwald is representing Isabel Martinez, accused of killing her family inside a Loganville mobile home early Thursday. Martinez, 33, was charged with five counts of malice murder, five counts of murder and six charges of aggravated assault.
Greenwald said he will request that Martinez undergo a mental evaluation.
In a bizarre first court appearance Friday, Martinez said she did not want an attorney.
"I don't need an attorney," Martinez said through an interpreter. "My attorney is the people that we are fighting for. ... It does not matter what color you are because God loves us all."
Judge Michael Thorpe disagreed, telling Martinez she was entitled to an attorney. Thorpe warned Martinez to stop her behavior in the courtroom, which included smiling and flashing two thumbs-up for the television cameras. She remained Monday in the Gwinnett jail, where she was being held without bond.
Immigration officials said Friday that Martinez illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico. But because it was her first encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it was unknown how long she has been the country, according to Bryan Cox, a spokesman for the agency. Martinez told police her husband was also in the U.S. illegally, Cox said.
Killed in the attack were Martin Romero, 33, and four siblings: 2-year-old Axel, 4-year-old Dillan, 7-year-old Dacota and 10-year-old Isabela Martinez. Nine-year-old Diana Romero was also stabbed and flown by helicopter to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, where she underwent emergency surgery. She is expected to survive.
