Detectives are questioning three suspects in the slaying of a Navajo boy from Cortez and are looking at his homosexuality as a possible motive for the crime, Montezuma County Sheriff Joey Chavez said Wednesday.

Names of the suspects had not been released and no arrests had been made as of press time. Although there had been reports the three had been cleared, sheriff’s Detective Lt. Kalvin Boggs said late Wednesday afternoon that was not the case.

One week ago Thursday, the badly decomposed body of 16-year-old Fred Martinez Jr. was found near the sewer ponds south of Cortez by two young boys who were playing in the area.

According to Chavez, Martinez’s body had been there nearly a week.

The sheriff’s office declined to release any information about what had been the murder weapon, but preliminary autopsy results suggest Martinez had been bludgeoned.

"It appeared to be some sort of blunt trauma to the head that contributed to the cause of death," Chavez said. Exposure was also likely a factor, he added.

Martinez, who had just finished his freshman year at Montezuma-Cortez High School, was the son of Pauline Adakai of Elmwood Trailer Park in Cortez.

Local students reported that Martinez was a homosexual, and said, in hindsight, they thought he might have been targeted for a hate crime.

Montezuma-Cortez High School sophomore Jessica Wilson said Martinez often curled his hair, plucked his eyebrows, wore make-up and toted a purse at school.

"People talked behind his back, but I’m sure he knew," Wilson said.

MCHS sophomore Mandy Rollman also said Martinez was openly gay. She described him as outgoing and happy, with a good sense of humor.

"He was really nice," Rollman said. "I can’t believe someone would do that to him."

Chavez said detectives are looking at the boy’s sexuality, as well as the fact that he was Native American, as possible motives in the crime.

"It could be a possibility that this is a hate crime," Chavez said. "We’re not ruling that out, but we’re not saying that for sure."

Chavez said the three suspects are young adults but not fellow students.

"One of them we feel is local and the other two were maybe just passing through," he said. "We’re in the stage of ruling them out, and at that time we’ll decide through interviews if there will be any arrests."

Martinez was last seen at his home on June 16 and reportedly had said he was going to the carnival at the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo. He never returned home. Only after the body was discovered did his family report him missing, according to the sheriff’s department.

"Evidently, they (the family) didn’t report him right away because he frequently left and wouldn’t come back for days. They just thought that’s exactly what he was doing," Chavez said.

Initially detectives had a difficult time identifying the body because of its state of decomposition and the lack of a missing-persons report.

However, a mirror bearing the name "Fred Martinez" was found near the body, according to Chavez.

Also found at the scene was a blue handkerchief, but detectives have yet to determine whether it belonged to Martinez or someone else.

"At this time it’s still part of the investigation," Chavez said. "We don’t know that the handkerchief was specifically his."

According to a police report, Martinez was wearing black work boots, tan pants and a gray sweatshirt with his hair pulled up on top of his head in a pony tail when his body was found.

Officials do not know whether anyone saw Martinez at the carnival or if he was with anyone.

"We’re still in the interview stages and we haven’t determined exactly who he was with," Chavez said.

Because Martinez was a juvenile, the Journal was not able to obtain any information as to whether he had a criminal history.

"The sheriff’s office has never had any dealings with him, but we think he was familiar with the city police department," Chavez said.

The final autopsy results will not be available for at least another week, he said. It is unknown whether Martinez was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his death.

MCHS counselor LouAnn Burkett said Martinez did not stand out as a problem child at the school and seemed to be well-adjusted socially in terms of his sexuality.

"He was really happy with himself — he didn’t seem to have any guilt or any complex about it," Burkett said. "He enjoyed himself and the way he was and kids accepted him."

Burkett said she did not believe Martinez had been a victim of bullying.

"I never saw or heard anything — secondhand or from him — that there was anything said at school to him," she said.

"Generally, if those kids are having a problem, they’ll come in. It was never pointed out to us that he was a problem. I’m just going to really miss the guy."