Mourners remember slain mom, daughter

The man who survived an attack that claimed the life of his wife and daughter last month was able to leave his hospital bed and attend their funeral on Friday.

Arturo Martinez waited in a back room with his two sons as roughly 500 people attended services at St. Christopher Catholic Church in North Las Vegas. When the services finished, they met privately with the rest of the family, according to Silverio Olmedo, his brother-in-law.

Doctors gave him permission to attend, 25 days after he was hospitalized after being attacked with a hammer in his central valley home.

Ignacia "Yadira" Martinez, 38, and Karla Martinez, 10, who were similarly attacked, were laid to rest afterward.

Friday's services, led by Father Alberto Alzate, were almost entirely in Spanish. Songs were led by a female choir and a trio of guitarists.

Alzate was unable to hold back tears at one point as he encouraged stronger moral values and stronger punishments for law-breakers.

Afterward, Olmedo thanked Las Vegas for the support.

"It's a great community that has not abandoned us," he told a reporter in Spanish.

Police have arrested Bryan Clay, 22, in the random attacks that shocked Las Vegas. Police have accused him of breaking into the Martinez family home near Washington and Rancho drives and using a hammer to beat three of them. Karla Martinez was also raped, authorities said.

Two boys inside the home were not attacked. Las Vegas police were alerted to the crime when one of the boys went to school and said his mother and sister were dead inside their home.

Police found Arturo Martinez, a boxing coach, with at least two skull fractures, and authorities were unsure whether he would be able to communicate again. The extent of his recovery is unclear.

Olmedo, his brother-in-law, said the past several weeks have been the most difficult for his family, immigrants from Hidalgo, Mexico.

When asked what kind of punishment Clay should face, Olmedo said in Spanish: "I have no strength to think about revenge, but there is a God who will give us justice and peace in our souls."

Dozens of friends also attended the services. Gisela Corral met the couple 14 years ago, when Arturo and Karla Martinez moved to Las Vegas, and was with them when Karla was born.

"They were a very strong couple, a very close family," she said. "This is devastating news. God help the person who did this atrocity, and I hope there is justice."

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.