A New York man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for a plan that involved killing and dismembering a woman after illegally obtaining a life insurance policy in her name to collect the benefits, according to federal authorities. According to prosecutors, Cory Martin watched crime shows like “Dexter” and “The First 48” to learn how to get away with killing the victim.
A federal judge in Brooklyn sentenced Martin, 37, to 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and two years for aggravated identity theft.
US Attorney Breon Peace, whose office prosecuted the case, described it as a “ghastly, cold-blooded crime” motivated by avarice and carried out with meticulous forethought.
Brandy Odom, 26, was a sex worker that Martin managed and shared an apartment with in Queens.
“Martin preyed upon Brandy Odom. “He saw the victim as a means of making money,” Peace said in a statement. “He trafficked her for commercial sex, then killed her with his bare hands so he could profit from her death.”
Prosecutors claim Martin and a co-conspirator fraudulently secured two life insurance policies in Odom’s name the year before Martin strangled her in her bedroom.
They were on the NYPD’s radar after a cadaver dog detected the dead woman’s scent in one of their vehicles, CBS New York previously reported.
Prosecutors claim Martin searched Home Depot’s website for a “Dewalt 12-Amp Corded Reciprocating Saw,” followed by a YouTube search for “how to insert a blade for a reciprocating saw.” His co-conspirator stated that Martin used an electric saw to dismember Odom’s corpse in the bathtub after covering the bathroom surfaces with heavy-duty waste bags to avoid leaving any trace of the murder, according to prosecutors.
In 2018, the two bought cleaning materials and dismembered Odom’s body, which they then discarded in a Brooklyn park. They then made futile attempts to collect money from Odom’s life insurance plans until their capture in 2020.
A federal jury convicted Martin guilty in March after a two-week trial in which prosecutors claimed Martin watched crime shows such as “Dexter” and “The First 48” for advice on how to get away with the murder.
“The defendant believed he could thwart law enforcement and cover up this heinous crime by relying on television shows about murder, but the investigatory efforts of law enforcement brought him to justice,” Peace said Wednesday.
Lawyers for Martin didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
“My daughter was a loving child. She was sweet. She didn’t have any enemies,” Odom’s mother Nicole previously told CBS New York.