Friends say Martinez was kind, humorous

Friends say Martinez was kind, humorous

June 30, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Cortez Journal Staff Writer

Friends and teachers of Fred Martinez Jr. say the well-liked Montezuma-Cortez High School student was a determined, upbeat young man who was struggling toward adulthood in a climate of intolerance and cultural contrasts.

The 16-year-old, an apparent victim of homicide who was found dead June 21, was born in Tuba City, Ariz., and raised in Cortez. In school, his endearing personality and gentle sense of humor attracted a close circle of mostly female, American Indian friends.

But as Martinez began to come into his own in the last two years, he displayed a feminine style of appearance that sometimes brought him harassment and scorn, acquaintances say.

Acquaintances have reported that Martinez liked to wear women’s clothing and makeup, and told people he was considering a sex-change operation.

The hardship he suffered was great, but rarely displayed, those who knew him said.

"He knew that others did not care for the way he looked, but he did not hold it against them," said Ann Miller, one of Martinez’s teachers in the adult-education program. "He was very forgiving, and he really liked people, even if they were less than polite."

Such abuse eventually took its toll, though. The pressure led him last February to enroll in adult-education programs, where he received more personal attention.

"He came to the adult ed because it was a learning environment where he felt safer," said Barbara Burroughs, one of Martinez’s teachers. "He was being harassed, and you don’t want to go to school every day if you’re going to be harassed."

Michelle Kardokus, a friend of Martinez, said, "He would brush off people making fun of him, but not in an angry way. He showed a lot of confidence in himself, and who he was.

"When he came along, the group dynamic was a lot livelier because he was really funny and could make all of us laugh," she said. "He just had a humorous perspective that we all really loved about him."

Miller said she and others are distraught at how Martinez has been portrayed in the media.

"There is too much focus on his tendency toward being feminine," Miller said. "It was just another outfit, just like with head-bangers, jocks, rappers and skinheads. He was a very neat, clean person who cared about his appearance.

"The real focus needs to be on the viciousness and hatred of whoever it was that would do this to such an innocent person," she said.

Behind his courageous and amicable personality, Martinez suffered from mental anguish that went beyond typical teen-age angst, a situation that was catching up with him psychologically, his teachers say.

"Many of our kids are the ones that went through some pretty hard times in life, and he was one of them. He had a lot of pain in his life, but he never felt sorry for himself," Miller said. "He wanted to go on to college and contribute to society."

Miller said Martinez had begun considering career options, which looked promising.

"We had just talked about college or job training on the last day of school and he said ... he was ready for that," she said. "We are just stunned at what happened."

Martinez’s own hardships, personality and traditional American Indian upbringing gave him sharp perspective on the human condition, teachers said

His humor and kindness would probably have led to a career in counseling or medicine, Miller speculated.

"When people felt down in the classroom here, he wanted to help them; he could put people at ease," she said.

Martinez’s mother, Patricia Mitchell, declined to talk about her son when contacted Thursday, but said that "some of what is being said is untrue."