As detectives investigated a man’s death at an Orlando apartment complex, a woman approached them with a troubling account: a 3-year-old girl in her family’s care had begun crying and said, “Mama cut papa.”
The statement became part of the investigation into Isidra Bautista Hernandez, 36, who now faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of her boyfriend, Eugenio Sixto Sanchez Martinez, 32.
Police were called to Pacifico Apartments on Shenandoah Way around 9:20 a.m. November 9 after two maintenance workers discovered a suspiciously heavy trash bag near the complex’s trash compactor. Officers found Martinez’s body inside, launching a homicide investigation.
Nearby discarded mail gave detectives an address to check. According to a criminal complaint, a search of the apartment uncovered blood on the walls, a couch and other belongings, along with identification connecting Hernandez and Martinez to the home.
While investigators worked, a woman told them her mother had been babysitting Hernandez’s children, ages 1 and 3. She said the older child began crying while in her care, made cutting gestures and spoke about “papa,” according to the complaint. The account was relayed to detectives by an adult; it was not a statement the girl gave directly to police.
Detectives later questioned Hernandez when she returned from work. Police allege she initially said Martinez had left and she did not know where he was, but changed her account after investigators confronted her with evidence.
Hernandez then described a violent confrontation, alleging Martinez had been choking her while holding a knife. According to the complaint, she said she took the knife from him and used it against him. Her account raises a claim of self-defense, but the circumstances remain disputed and have not been resolved in court.
Local reporting places Hernandez’s arrest on November 11, two days after the discovery of Martinez’s body. She was being held without bond, and the available reports did not establish whether she had entered a plea or retained an attorney. The investigation remains ongoing.
