MS-13 Gang Member Attends Maryland High School as Murder Suspect, School Not Told

A grieving mother has a powerful warning for Maryland parents after her daughter was murdered and the suspected killer was allowed to attend a public school.

“When I start from the very beginning and get to the very end, they’re like, ‘wow, that is a really crazy story,’” The victim’s mother Tammy Nobles told Project Baltimore. “And I say, ‘it is a crazy story. But it’s a true story.’ It’s the worst pain that a parent can ever get.”

Nobles’ daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed on July 27, 2022. For more than two years her death made headlines. Hamilton was killed by a 16-year-old MS-13 gang member from El Salvador who was in United States of America illegally.

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On the day Kayla died, Aberdeen Police quickly identified Walter Martinez as a primary suspect. According to charging documents, Martinez was detained by police and questioned. Detectives had surveillance video and an audio recording that placed Martinez at the scene of the crime. Martinez was read his Miranda Rights.

“They knew he was guilty. They just needed that DNA to really lock it in,” stated Nobles.

When police sent out Martinez’s DNA, it took six months to process. And Project Baltimore can confirm that after Kayla was murdered, and while police were waiting for the DNA results, Martinez was allowed to enroll as a student and was attending Edgewood High School in Harford County.

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Under Maryland law, since Martinez had not yet been charged with murder, he could attend Edgewood High School and authorities, including CPS, were not required to tell the school about his past. But Nobles believes someone should have.

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Think about this for a minute. After Kayla was murdered, Martinez was quickly identified as a primary suspect according to charging documents. As a minor and MS-13 gang member in the country illegally, several organizations were involved in the investigation:

-Aberdeen Police Department

-Maryland State Police

– FBI

– Immigrations and Customs Enforcement

– Child and Protective Services

Yet, when Martinez was enrolled in Edgewood High School, no one involved told the school that a suspected murderer was walking the hallways with 1,400 other students.

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