Man sentenced to 30 years in prison for slaying of his girlfriend in Parker County
A 35-year-old man pleaded guilty in Parker County on Thursday to the murder of his girlfriend and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, according to a news release.
Stephen Joshua Martinez, of Austin, pleaded guilty to shooting and killing Michelle Steinman Davis, 24, May 26, 2019, off Interstate 20 in Millsap, according to the release from the Parker County District Attorney’s Office. Martinez told a 911 dispatcher he was in an argument with Davis while they were driving back to Austin and he shot and killed her.
In September 2019, District Judge Graham Quisenberry declared Martinez incompetent and ordered he be sent to North Texas State Hospital until he was able to stand trial. He was declared competent two years later and his attorney filed a notice of intent to seek an insanity finding at the trial the next day.
Because of the questions about Martinez’s competency to stand trial, the district attorney’s office spoke with the family of Davis and decided a 30-year prison sentence in exchange for a guilty plea “was a good resolution,” Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain said in the release.
“This case was not about who killed Michelle Davis,” Swain said in the release. “It was about whether we could get Mr. Martinez to the point where he was competent to stand trial and, if so, whether or not he was insane at the time of the murder.”
Davis graduated Amarillo High School and was a singer-songwriter who enjoyed painting and making pottery, according to the release.
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 7:49 PM.