Leticia Martinez-Cosman: Missing mom was strangled to death, date seen in selfie charged with murder
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: Police have charged the man who took a selfie with Leticia Martinez-Cosman from the stands of a baseball game and sent it to her family before she went missing and was found dead later.
Leticia Martinez-Cosman, 58, who was last seen leaving a Seattle Mariners baseball game while out on a date, was found dead in Renton's Washington Woods on April 13. Authorities are now treating her death as a homicide after it was determined that she was strangled to death.
The single mother, who was dating 46-year-old Brett Gitchel, was last seen on March 31 at Seattle's T-Mobile Park, from where she sent a selfie to her family. Gitchel has been accused of murder, kidnapping, illegal possession of a firearm, theft, arson, and other crimes since his arrest on April 6 in connection with Martinez-Cosman's disappearance, as per reports.
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Leticia Martinez-Cosman: Body of missing mom who was last seen in baseball game selfie recovered
Her body was discovered within two kilometers of the claimed attack by Gitchel on the victim's special needs son, Patrick Cosman. Gitchel is accused of luring Cosman into a car under the pretense that his mother had been in an accident and then attacking him inside; nevertheless, Cosman informed the police he fought off his assailant and fled, as per reports.
'Brett Gitchel kidnapped her disabled son'
According to documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney reviewed by PEOPLE, "Brett Gitchel kidnapped her disabled son and attempted to strangle him to unconsciousness. Two hours after the kidnapping and assault of her son, Leticia's car was found burned from a fire started with accelerants in the passenger seat."
'I just want to see the person who did this'
Martinez-Cosman was pronounced dead from asphyxia and strangulation after an autopsy, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office. Gitchel has been jailed on a $5 million bail following the determination that her death was a homicide.
Martinez-Cosman's brother, Ricardo Martinez, said, "I think it's starting to hit me right now. But I'm trying to stay focused and get this resolved and then move on with what she had wanted to do. I just want to see the person who did this, to get some justice for my sister and my nephew," as reported by KIRO7.
'Patrick has special needs and needs full-time care'
In a GoFundMe page, the family stated, "Patrick has special needs and needs full-time care. Letty was his caretaker, and his life has been turned upside down. Patrick will have extensive physical and mental health needs in the days and months ahead and we cannot do it alone."