Federal prosecutors have convicted a New York City man for killing and dismembering a woman in an effort to claim her life insurance.
On Monday, a federal jury found Cory Martin, 36, of Rosedale, Queens, guilty of murder for hire and identity theft crimes, among others, after 26-year-old Brandy Odom was strangled in her bedroom in 2018.
According to the US attorney’s office of the eastern district of New York, Martin was acting as a pimp for Odom and a co-conspirator identified in news reports as Adelle Anderson, living with them while they engaged in sex work on his behalf.
Twice – in March 2017 and December of the same year – Martin and Anderson fraudulently obtained a life insurance policy in Odom’s name, authorities said. The pair made payments to the life insurance companies using Western Union money orders and a debit card in Odom’s name.
During the trial, Anderson said she and Martin watched The First 48, a news documentary series on real-life investigations by homicide detectives in the first 48 hours of murder investigations. According to the US attorney’s office, the pair discussed “what not to do, and what things to do to avoid being caught by the police”.
Anderson also testified that Martin watched Dexter, a television series about a blood splatter expert who solves murders but also commits them, dismembering his victims.
According to Anderson, Martin was “looking for ways to commit the crime when he got rid of Brandy”.
In April 2018, Martin strangled Odom in her bedroom before going to a mall on Long Island to purchase cleaning supplies with Anderson, the US attorney’s office said. He also searched on the Home Depot website for a “Dewalt 12-Amp Corded Reciprocating Saw”, which features a “powerful 12 amp motor designed for heavy-duty applications”. That evening, he searched YouTube for “how to insert blade for reciprocating saw” and “using reciprocating saw”.
Anderson testified that Martin used the electric saw to dismember Odom’s corpse in the bathtub after covering every surface in the bathroom with heavy-duty black garbage bags.
A few days later, Martin disposed of Odom’s body parts in Canarsie Park, a 132-acre park in Brooklyn. On 10 April he searched for online news reports including “Search area expands after dismembered body found in Canarsie Park in Brooklyn”, and a day later for “exclusive interview of mother of girl found in park”.
The US attorney’s office said Anderson then made numerous, though unsuccessful, attempts to claim benefits under Odom’s life insurance policies at Martin’s instructions.
Martin faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
“It is fitting that Martin faces a mandatory sentence to spend the rest of his life in prison for this ghastly, cold-blooded crime that was motivated by greed and executed after extensive planning,” said Breon Peace, the US attorney for the eastern district of New York.
“Martin saw the victim as a moneymaker, trafficking her for commercial sex, then after killing her with his bare hands, tossing out her slaughtered body parts like trash so he could profit from her death.
“Brandy Odom suffered an unthinkable death at the defendant’s hands, but her life mattered and I hope that this verdict holding the defendant responsible brings some measure of closure to her family.”
