The Interrogation of Michelle Martens

In an interrogation room, a detective reads Michelle Martens her rights. She's a mother whose daughter, Macaulay Victoria, is dead. Michelle has visible injuries—a gash on her face, bruises on her back—and she tells a story about being attacked in her own apartment by her boyfriend's cousin, Jessica Kelly, who had been living with them for about a week and a half. But as the interrogation unfolds, the detective calmly explains that he's already spoken to Michelle's boyfriend, Fabian, and that Fabian has told a very different version of events. What follows is a slow, methodical unraveling of a story that was never quite true.

The First Story

Michelle's initial account is straightforward. She says she came home from the store with Fabian and went to bed. Around five in the morning, Jessica entered the bedroom, asked if Michelle believed in God, and when Michelle said yes, Jessica hit her in the face with a metal iron. What follows, in Michelle's telling, is a prolonged, violent attack: Jessica hitting her repeatedly, punching her, pulling her hair, chasing her through the apartment, and at one point pinning her down with a knee on her neck. Michelle says she finally escaped through the front door, and as she was going down the stairs, Jessica yelled, "Your daughter's dead."