Dad held 6-year-old under scalding bathtub faucet until he died, feds say. He’s sentenced

A dad is going to prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, federal officials said. He’s accused of killing his 6-year-old son during bath time in Arizona.

Pablo Martinez Jr., 36, of Tucson killed his son in 2019 by holding his face under a bathtub’s faucet for 5 to 10 minutes, according to an Oct. 17 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

The man’s defense attorney declined to comment on the case Oct. 17.

Martinez, a member of the Pascua Yaqui Indian Tribe, was bathing his son when he said he saw “something evil in” him, according to the criminal complaint.

He told officials he poured the hot water down his son’s throat and saw that it was “casting out the demon,” authorities said.

The boy had liquid thermal burns to his face, throat, chest, back and upper body from scalding water, according to the plea agreement.

When police arrived at Martinez’s home, he placed his hands in the air and said “I did it,” prosecutors said.

Martinez was sentenced to 25 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, prosecutors said.

Tucson is about a 110-mile drive southeast of Phoenix.

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