Maryland child care worker classified as MS-13 murder suspect

A Baltimore County caregiver said Maryland Child Services put her “in the firing line” without telling her.

Angela Studivant worked as a child care worker at the Catonsville Children's Home for five years. During that time, she says, she cared for Walter Martinez, the MS-13 gang member who murdered 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton in Harford County. And all the while, she had no idea she was caring for a murderer.

Studivant says she was stunned when she sat down and turned on FOX45 News on Monday night last week.

“I saw the young man and recognized his face. I kept saying: I know this young man. And I just thought: Oh my God, that's Walter,” Studivant explained.

The Children’s Home is a care home group that, according to its website, provides “services for children, youth and families” to promote “long-term well-being and success.”

During her time at the home, Studivant cared for hundreds of children, including Martinez.

“I think that was horrible and despicable. It put me in a line of fire that I didn't even know I was in,” Studivant said.

On July 27, 2022, Martinez killed 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton in Harford County. After the murder, Aberdeen police quickly identified 16-year-old Martinez as the prime suspect. According to the indictment, Martinez was a member of the MS-13 gang who had entered the country illegally as an unaccompanied minor.

While police investigated Kayla's murder, Child Protective Services took custody of Martinez. FOX45 reported last week that police told Child Protective Services that Martinez was dangerous and needed to be isolated. Instead, he was placed in the children's home, where Studivant was assigned to him. She tells Fox45 News that she was not informed of Martinez's past.

“We don't have any security there to protect us,” Studivant said. “So if there's no one there to protect you, a murderer who wants to come in and kill can do so.”

During her stay, Studivant told Fox45 that she took Martinez to the dentist. He sat behind her in the back seat for over an hour while she drove.

“I don't think they should have taken him into the children's home,” Studivant said. It was very risky. And they have to thank their lucky stars that this young man didn't strike again, because there were many ways he could have done it.”

While at the Children's Home, Martinez also enrolled as a student at Lansdowne High School.

“He shouldn't have been allowed to go to school,” said Studivant. “I have children. I don't want them to sit next to a murderer in school.”

In August, Martinez was sentenced to 70 years in prison for Kayla's murder. While in prison, Martinez wrote a letter to a pastor in El Salvador, but the letter was intercepted by authorities.

According to Alison Healey, Harford County District Attorney, Martinez admits in the letter to murdering four people and raping two – including, in Healey's opinion, Kayla.

“If I had to make an educated guess, I would say the other three were in El Salvador. But I don't know if that's true,” Healey said.

In a statement to FOX45 News, the children's home said it “cannot comment on matters involving their youth” and that people should contact the Department of Human Services, which oversees CPS. So FOX45 contacted them and received this response from DHS: “We cannot release information regarding child welfare cases.”

“I don't think he should have ever gone outside because we were all in danger. An MS-13 gang member said something like, 'Come on, be serious,'” Studivant said.

Martinez spent just a few months in the children's home during the summer of 2022 and into the fall. Studivant says he was causing problems and misbehaving. In October 2022, Martinez was sent to a foster home in Harford County, where he attended Edgewood High School until he was arrested in January 2023.

When asked if she thought the foster parents knew about Martinez's past, Studivant said it was unlikely.

“I would think they didn't know,” she said. “Because why would you say yes? You're putting all your other children in danger. That's not fair. We're here to protect them. We're not here to harm them any more. That's a problem.”

FOX45 contacted the Harford County foster mother who took in Martinez and asked if she had been informed by Child Protective Services about Martinez's past. The foster mother declined to answer any questions.

Originally published: September 26, 2024 at 7:40 am