Detectives from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office have solved a decade-long murder investigation, according to a news release.
Deputies say they have arrested Marlon Faulker in connection to the 2006 murder case of 18-year-old Christopher Martin.
On July 29, 2006, the body of Martin, a resident of Mesa, was found on state trust land near Meridian Road and Elliot Road in Pinal County.
The partially decomposed body was found by nearby residents.
During PCSO's investigation, an Arizona Identification Card belonging to Martin was found.
Deputies say because of the advanced decomposition of the body, visual identification was impossible.
Detectives made contact with Martin's parents who told them he had last been seen on July 25, 2006 at an unknown address on Butternut Avenue, near the intersection of 98th Street and Broadway in Mesa.
Martin's father told deputies he had dropped him off and no one in the family had heard from him since.
On August 11, 2006, detectives were able to confirm the identity of the body as Christopher Martin, based upon fingerprint analysis.
The autopsy results revealed that Christopher Martin had been shot and died as a result of injuries sustained to his head and chest.
Throughout the course of 8 years, detectives worked many leads in the case with negative results.
Deputies say detectives worked all available leads and even interviewed old investigative leads but were unable to conclusively determine who was responsible for Christopher Martin's murder.
"In 2013, a letter was mailed to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office by a subject who wanted to remain anonymous. The person writing the letter indicated that his previous girlfriend had possibly lured Chris Martin to her house located on Butternut Avenue, where Chris was killed by a male subject named Marlon Faulkner," Sheriff Paul Babeu said in the news release.
Detectives then began to focus on the new leads and developed information building Faulkner as a viable suspect in the case. The Pinal County Attorney's Office supported their findings.
On October 24, 2016, Marlon Faulkner was taken into custody while attending an unrelated court appearance at the Pinal County Superior Court.
Faulkner was booked into the Pinal County Jail for one count of First Degree Murder.
