Couple indicted in killing, dismemberment of Lisa Marie Velasquez

<p>The couple accused of killing Lisa Marie Velasquez and dismembering her body were indicted Tuesday.</p>

News 12 Staff

Sep 25, 2018, 11:17 PM

Updated 2,279 days ago

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The couple accused of killing Lisa Marie Velasquez and dismembering her body were indicted Tuesday.
Daquan Wheeler was indicted on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree criminal facilitation and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Wheeler's girlfriend, Ciara Martinez, was indicted on charges of mutilating and discarding the remains of Velasquez.
According to their indictment papers, the couple blamed the crime on each other.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark announced the indictment and called Velasquez's death was "the ultimate degradation of a human being."
In August, a city Parks Department worker found a bag of the victim's remains in Crotona Park. Tourists found another bag of her remains in Barretto Point Park.
According to court documents, Martinez, a friend of the victim, told detectives she would do anything to help them find Velasquez on Aug. 28. Wheeler, on Aug. 29, told detectives he wasn't involved in the crime and blamed it on Martinez, saying she was the one to hit Velasquez with a hammer before mutilating her body.
The documents also state that Martinez said that Wheeler smashed her phone and told Velasquez to leave before hitting her on the head with a hammer. She also claims Wheeler said if Velasquez were to go to the hospital, he would go to jail.
Martinez claims to have touched Velasquez only twice. She later admitted in the documents that she told Wheeler she was going to help him because they were in the situation together, and she described how they worked together to discard the body.
Wheeler is due back in court Jan. 8, while Martinez is due back Dec. 20.