MS-13 Teen Gang Member Enrolled in Maryland High School Despite Being Suspected as Murderer

A high-profile member of the MS-13 gang who was in the U.S. illegally was allowed to enroll in a Maryland public high school even though he was the prime suspect in the rape and murder of a woman with autism, according to a report on the killer who is now serving a 70-year prison sentence.

Walter Martinez was 16 when he was able to attend classes at Edgewood High School in Harford County for several months in late 2022 while police investigated the gruesome death of 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton, Fox45 reported.

The gang leader, who had entered the U.S. illegally from El Salvador several months before the killing, was immediately identified as the main perpetrator after Hamilton’s body was found raped, strangled and bound in her trailer on July 27, 2022, authorities said.

But although surveillance footage showed Martinez at the crime scene, it took six months for the DNA evidence needed to ultimately charge him to be processed.

Meanwhile, the known gang leader was allowed to enroll at the local school without police notifying the Harford County Public Schools District of the ongoing investigation.

Under Maryland law, authorities, including immigration officials, were not required to inform administrators of his suspect status because the teen had not yet been charged.

“It makes me angry,” the victim’s mother, Tammy Nobles, told the outlet. “You sit there and send this monster to high school with other people’s kids, and you’re putting kids in danger. Look what he did to Kayla.”

“Why did you put him in a public school? I want to know why,” she continued. “Someone needs to be held accountable.”

A school district spokesperson confirmed that Martinez had enrolled in high school in October 2022, but that they were not aware of the potential dangers.

“There was no information in our possession that would indicate he posed a danger to other students or staff,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“HCPS is not given unfettered access to information held by law enforcement that may suggest a potential student is dangerous, has gang ties, or is suspected of heinous and disturbing crimes.”

Details of Martinez’s enrollment at the school only emerged this week, after the gang member pleaded guilty to Hamilton’s murder last month.

Martinez was eventually sentenced to 70 years in prison.

“We need to change the laws,” Nobles said, referring to the details surrounding Martinez’s school enrollment. “If you’re a suspect, the prime suspect in a crime, you shouldn’t be allowed to go to school with other kids. They have virtual school and computers.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton’s gruesome murder has been in the news repeatedly in recent years, especially after her killer’s immigration status and ties to the notorious MS-13 gang came to light.

Her mother has filed lawsuits against the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services for allowing the illegal immigrant into the country in the first place.

Nobles also testified before Congress on the Biden administration’s immigration policies and was among those in attendance at this year’s State of the Union address.