Not everyone who watches fictional television dramas or documentaries are inspired to go out and commit a crime to see if they can get away with it. But 37-year-old Cory Martin was on that type of time, and a federal judge just handed him his punishment for his grisly crime.
Police say back in 2017, he pimped out a 26-year-old sex worker, Brandy Odom, who also lived with him in his Queens apartment. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace accused Martin of seeing Odom as an opportunity to make money by trafficking her for commercial sex, per the Department of Justice.
Prosecutors say Martin, along with an accomplice, conspired a plot to make even more from Odom by killing her. The pair fraudulently took out two life insurance policies in Odom’s name in March and December of 2017. They then made premium payments to the life insurance policies by Western Union money orders as well with a debit card in Odom’s name.
Following the life insurance scheme, they allegedly began watching shows with Martin including “Dexter” and “The First 48.” The goal, prosecutors said, was to find information on how to “avoid being caught by the police” and “looking for ways to commit the crime” to take Odom’s life.
In April 2018, Martin strangled Odom to death in her bedroom and had his accomplice clean up the murder scene with supplies they purchased prior. Martin then searched on Home Depot’s website for a power saw, which he used to dismember Odom’s body in his bathtub, prosecutors said. Odom’s remains were discarded in Canarsie Park.
For nearly two years, Martin got away with the murder. However, in 2020, the two were apprehended by police after multiple attempts to claim the life insurance benefits from the policies they took out on Odom.
A jury found Martin guilty of murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft and fraudulent use of identification. He was sentenced last week to life in prison.
“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 Peace.