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Curtis Martin Pleads Not Guilty to Murdering Girlfriend, Baby

Bay City News
Thursday February 18, 2010 - 08:50:00 AM

Curtis Martin III pleaded not guilty today to charges that he murdered his girlfriend and their baby in November. 

Martin, a 38-year-old Oakland man, is scheduled to return to Alameda County Superior Court on May 17 for a pretrial hearing. 

Martin is accused of killing his 17-month-old son, Jashon, and later killing Jashon’s mother, 23-year-old Zoelina Toney. 

Toney’s body was found in Aquatic Park, along the shoreline east of Interstate Highway 80 in Berkeley, about 4 a.m. on Nov. 13. 

Two days later, a child’s body was found near the Berkeley Marina, about a mile from the spot where Toney’s body had been found. 

The body was identified as that of Jashon last month. 

In addition to two counts of murder, Martin is charged with two special circumstance clauses that could result in him facing the death penalty: committing multiple murders and murdering Toney because she was a witness to the murder of Jashon. 

Martin has two prior felony convictions: a 1994 voluntary manslaughter conviction for the death of the 3-year-old son of his girlfriend at the time and a 1992 conviction for possession of an assault weapon. 

Martin was paroled from state prison on Sept. 7, 2000, after serving only about six years of his 11-year term for killing his son.