CHEYENNE — More than a year after his 4-month-old son's died, a Cheyenne man is set for a jury trial on a first-degree murder charge, which alleges Joseph Hanson and the child’s mother brutalized the infant leading up to his death.
The trial for Hanson, 24, is scheduled to begin Oct. 26 in Laramie County District Court, nearly two months ahead of the first-degree murder trial of the child’s mother, Juliette Martinez.
Martinez shows up on a list of more than 30 potential witnesses for the prosecution filed last week, although prosecutors acknowledge that she “may invoke her Fifth Amendment right” and decline to testify.
If she does answer questions on the witness stand, a pretrial memorandum filed with the court says that Martinez is expected to “testify as to her knowledge of the events surrounding TH’s injuries, the household and caretaking arrangements, her observations of TH before and at the time of the seizures, her interactions with the defendant, and any other information within her knowledge relevant to this action.”
TH are the initials of the 4-month-old in court documents.
The witnesses in the trial, estimated to take four or five days, also include three doctors from Children’s Hospital Colorado, where the infant was taken, and a medical examiner.
Both parents remain in the Laramie County Detention Center on $500,000 bonds.
Parents Reluctant To Approve Life-Flight
Hanson and Martinez were both arrested April 8, seven months to the day after the boy died on Sept. 8, 2025, according to the Cheyenne Police Department.
However, the investigation into the parents began a month earlier than that when an officer responded to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center on a report of an infant boy brought in by his parents after having a seizure, the CPD reported at the time.
“Following an assessment, it was determined the baby required advanced medical care at Denver Children’s Hospital,” the CPD reported. “When staff were unable to locate or contact the parents to obtain consent for the life-flight, the responding officer went to their residence to connect them with hospital personnel.”
After the 4-month-old had been transported to the Denver hospital, medical personnel who evaluated the boy found he had “extensive injuries,” the report says.
“Doctors confirmed the infant had fractures and life-threatening brain trauma, which appeared to be the result of physical abuse,” the report continues. “The child was placed on life support.”
Hospital staff were reportedly concerned not only by the baby’s condition, they were struggling to get consent from Martinez and Hanson to life-flight the infant.
A month after being transferred to the Colorado hospital, “the child was removed from life support and pronounced deceased,” the report says.
More time passed until March 20, when CPD detectives received a completed autopsy report on the 4-month-old that “determined the cause and manner of death to be homicide,” Cheyenne police reported at the time of their arrest.
What Was Found On Her Phone
According to an affidavit filed in both their first-degree murder cases by Cheyenne Police Detective Mike Webster, Martinez told investigators she had been asleep until late that morning before noticing the baby’s breathing looked unusual.
She said Hanson came into the bedroom and agreed “TH’s breathing was odd,” the affidavit says.
The couple picked the baby up and tried to wake him before he began shaking, according to court documents.
Martinez allegedly told police she recorded a video of the infant and sent it to Hanson’s mother, who urged them to go to the hospital immediately.
Hanson gave investigators a different version of the morning. He reportedly said he had stayed awake with the baby during the night, fed him around 4 a.m., then left for work at about 7:30 a.m., leaving him in Martinez’s care.
As detectives worked to piece together the timeline, they seized both parents’ cellphones through a search warrant.
Investigators later said Martinez’s phone records conflicted with statements she had made about being asleep. According to the affidavit, her phone showed activity on TikTok and Snapchat between 8:03 and 9:29 a.m.
Police also detailed a series of internet searches allegedly made after the baby began showing signs of medical distress. Those include:
• “Shaken baby syndrome symptoms”
• “Signs father gave baby shaken baby syndrome”
• “Seizures in 5-month-old baby”
Investigators additionally reported 58 missing text messages from Martinez’s phone during a several-hour period that morning.
The affidavit also states Hanson allegedly told a nurse that Martinez had “twin resentment.” The victim had a twin sibling, along with an 18-month-old sister.
According to investigators, the couple noticed something was wrong with the infant around 11:30 a.m. but did not take him to the hospital for roughly 45 minutes.
The Search Warrant
As the investigation unfolded, detectives obtained a search warrant for the family’s home on Aug. 9.
Inside, investigators documented several holes in the walls “about the size of an adult fist,” according to court records. Hanson later admitted to police that he punched the holes before the couple’s other children returned home.
Detectives also found what appeared to be the shattered remains of a glass table. The frame was still sitting in the basement, while pieces of the broken glass top had been moved into the garage.
After finishing the search, investigators contacted the infant’s paternal grandmother. According to the affidavit, she told detectives Martinez typically watched the children while Hanson was at work, but there were times she was allowed to pick up only the victim — not the other children.
The grandmother reportedly told police that was because Martinez “did not have a bond” with the boy. She also said she believed Martinez had been suffering from severe postpartum depression.
‘Consistent With Child Abuse’
Medical findings outlined in the affidavit describe a long list of injuries throughout the infant’s body.
Doctors at Children’s Hospital Colorado documented severe swelling of the brain, oxygen deprivation injuries, bleeding on the brain, fractures in both legs, a spinal fracture and a possible broken rib.
Dr. Denise Abdoo, a physician on the hospital’s Child Protection Team who’s also listed as a potential prosecution witness, reportedly told investigators the injuries were “consistent with child abuse.”
Another neurosurgeon later described the infant’s condition as a “nonsurvivable diffuse hypoxic injury and severe cerebral edema,” meaning massive brain damage caused by oxygen loss and swelling.
Doctors also told police the fractures appeared recent and were not injuries the child could have silently lived with for days without symptoms.
On Sept. 2, 2025, doctors performed a test on the victim and confirmed that he was “brain dead.”
The infant was later removed from life support and died Sept. 8.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Hanson and Martinez could get life in prison.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
