Rating:

4.0 (1 vote)

TUCSON - Early Tuesday morning detectives and rescue dogs found the body of who they believe to be Vanessa Martinez, a baby killed in January when she was three-months-old.

Deputy Dawn Barkman, with the Pima County Sherriff's Department, was on the scene.

"We did find the baby about two to two and a half feet in the ground," she said.

Olivia Paige Martinez and Jonathan Niles Kesterson are Vanessa's parents. They're currently in Pima County Jail facing charges of first degree murder and child abuse.

"The mother and father brought the baby out to the desert area on Toltec Road, buried the baby in a shallow grave and then fled to San Diego," Deputy Barkman continued.

The father, Mr. Kesterson, was arrested in San Diego on an unrelated charge. While there he made comments to the corrections officers about the baby's death. This led them to contact the Pima County Sherriff's Department.

"They believed this to be a valid case and a credible case and they put out a warrant for the mother's arrest and arrested the man as well," Deputy Barkman added.

According to the Sherriff's Department, Kesterson and Martinez told them where to search for their daughters body.

The investigation is still ongoing and an autopsy has to be performed.