Video: Lydia Martinez Says She Protected Grandkids In Murder Cover-Up

[syndicaster id=’6088672′]

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — How far would you go to protect the ones you love the most?

Lydia Martinez says she helped cover up her son-in-law’s murder, all in an effort to protect her grandchildren.

Martinez is charged with accessory after the fact in the brutal murder of Manuel Vasquez in his Lowndes County home.

It’s a murder Martinez says her own daughter committed in cold blood.

Now, Martinez is out on bond.

“I saved my grandkids’ lives, but she has no remorse,” Martinez said.

Martinez says her daughter, Christina, is capable of anything.

“I do remember my daughter giving me a whole bunch of pills, but slashing my wrists and drinking anti-freeze? I would never do that to myself,” she said. “She’s never loved me. My daughter never told me she loved me. She just wanted to take my life so it would seem like I’m the one who murdered my son-in-law, but I didn’t.”

Martinez tells WCBI she didn’t have much of a choice but to help cover up Manuel Vasquez’s murder.

She says it wasn’t possible to run away.

“I didn’t say nothing because she threatened me if I said anything,” Martinez said. “She told me if I said anything, you know what’s going to happen. She was going to take my grandkids’ lives. I won’t say anything. I’ll stay quiet. And I kept telling her, don’t hurt the kids. Please, just don’t hurt the kids.”

But why would Christina want to hurt her husband in the first place?

Lydia says Christina didn’t like their new lifestyle after Manuel became a Christian, claiming she wanted the life they used to have.

She was looking to get a divorce.

“She already had a lawyer. So when she found out she would only get half, she went crazy,” Martinez said. “She wanted everything. She wanted everything.”

Even though Christina is still in jail, Lydia says she still worries for her grandchildren’s safety.

She’s afraid Christina hired someone to hurt them.

“I keep telling [law enforcement] to please protect my grandchildren, please watch over them,” Martinez said. “I tell them, ‘You don’t know my daughter. You don’t know her.'”

Alexia Vasquez, Martinez’s granddaughter, gave WCBI this statement after our interview.

She said, “My brothers and I love Lydia with all of our hearts, and if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t be alive today.”

In part three of the conversation with Lydia Martinez, she explains what’s next for her.