Leticia Martinez-Cosman grew up in Encinitas, California, with her immediate family. However, she and her ex-husband Craig Cosman relocated to Seattle in the late 1990s when she was expecting their son Patrick.
Leticia’s last known photo was a selfie she took with Brett Gitchel during a Seattle Mariners baseball game; it was their first date as a couple. She has not returned to her apartment since that day.
Leticia “Leti” Martinez-Cosman, 58, had no idea that going to a Seattle Mariners baseball game at T-Mobile Park with Brett Gitchel on March 31 would be her last time seeing her family.
She was a single mother who was the main caretaker for her adult son who had special needs. She rarely went out for fun. But she was a die-hard Mariners fan who enjoyed relaxing at the ballpark during baseball season.
She and Gitchel, 46, had met at a warehouse store food court a few weeks before their date. They shared a common interest in the Mariners, and Leticia invited him to join her for the next game.
Leticia took a picture with Gitchel at the game to remember their first date, but she vanished that night. The last time Martinez-Cosman, 58, contacted her family was that night when she sent them a picture of herself and Gitchel at the game.
Leticia’s brother, Ricardo Martinez, alerted the police on April 2.
Investigation
According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, Gitchel kidnapped Leticia’s son, Patrick Cosman, from their West Seattle home hours before she vanished. He took Patrick to a remote location in Renton, Wash., where he attempted to choke and ki*ll him, but Patrick, 24, escaped and called the police.
Gitchel arrived at the home of Martinez-Cosman and her special-needs son around 2 a.m. on April 2, several days after she vanished. Investigators claim Gitchel told her son that his mother was in the hospital and that he would take him there.
Her son said to the investigators that Gitchel drove for a long time, then stopped the car, got in the back seat with him, and then attempted to suffocate him with a bag over his head.
Patrick managed to fight back and run away to the forest where he phoned his dad in Texas, who then contacted 911.
Soon after, Leticia’s charred car was found, but she was still missing. The police concluded that someone had deliberately torched her car.
After almost two weeks, they found her body in a Renton ditch. She had died from strangulation, according to the police.
Gitchel was arrested on April 5 and charged with the mu*rder of Leticia. He denied attempting to m*urder and kidnap Patrick, as well as ki*lling Leticia. When they arrested Gitchel, he had defense injuries from fighting back, such as wounds, scratches, and marks on his hands.
A gas station camera also caught Gitchel purchasing a gas can, fuel, and a lighter.
“My sister was a very giving, trusting person. She always looked out for the best in anyone,” says Ricardo. “I think this low-life thief targeted her. I guess he saw, ‘Oh, she’s got baseball tickets. I wonder if she’s got money.’ And when Leti somehow got in his way, he just kil*led her and tried to k*ill her son to cover his tracks.” ‘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.’ Ricardo concluded.
Gitchel is being held in jail on a $5 million bond. The true motivation for this crime has not been revealed.
