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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- On the day Victoria Martens was going to celebrate her 10th birthday, she was found dead in her family's apartment by Albuquerque police officers, her dismembered remains wrapped in a burning blanket.
Details of what New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and law enforcement officials described as an unspeakable crime emerged Thursday in a criminal complaint made public and filed against the girl's mother, her boyfriend and his cousin. The three were taken into custody late Wednesday night.
Police say Victoria was injected with methamphetamine, sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed before being dismembered.
A caller told a police dispatcher before dawn Wednesday that there was a disturbance in the apartment, said Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden Jr. Officers who went to the apartment complex found the gruesome crime scene.
"This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career," Eden said Thursday. "A complete disregard of human life."
By Thursday morning, a makeshift shrine for the girl had formed under a tree at the apartment complex - with relatives and friends leaving flowers, balloons, stuffed animals and lit candles.
Martinez said in a statement the abuse and killing of the girl "is unspeakable and justice should come down like a hammer."
The girl's mother, 35-year-old Michelle Martens, her 31-year-old boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, and his 31-year-old cousin, Jessica Kelley, face charges of child abuse resulting in death, kidnapping and tampering with evidence. Gonzales and Kelley have also been charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor.