Murder Suspect Released Due To Lack Of Evidence

By Linda Kor
   With a legal system designed to protect the innocent until proven guilty, who protects the public while the legal system determines that guilt or innocence?
   On March 2, 2008, three boys out for an afternoon of shooting and exploring near Joseph City stum-bled upon the body of a woman partially concealed under the overhang of a rock.
   The woman, Juanita Marietta Martinez of Tempe, had been stabbed in the chest and abdomen, and her throat was sliced. According to investigators, the actual crime had taken place more than a month before the discovery of her body, with evidence suggesting that death was not immediate and she had struggled with her assailant.
   On Jan. 28, 2008, Martinez had driven to Holbrook to spend the weekend with her boyfriend Elbert Shabi, 58, also known as Elbert Shabie, Phillip Shabie, Albert Shabie, Albert Taylor, Phil Albert and Phil Walking Badger. That was the last day that Martinez was seen alive.
   The results of the investigation led to the arrest of Shabi in February 2009, more than a year after the crime took place. Shabi was charged with first degree murder.
   In March the case went before the Navajo County Grand Jury and an indictment was handed down for the case to go to trial. But on Oct. 2, the process for that determination of guilt or innocence came to a halt.
   Judge Carolyn Holliday reviewed the information provided by the prosecution and determined that the evidence presented was not substantial enough prove a specific “signature” that uniquely identified Shabi as the only possible perpetrator of the crime.
   As a result, Holliday dismissed the charges against Shabi without prejudice and ordered him released.
   “We currently have no physical evidence that ties Shabi to the murder. Shabi’s DNA was found as part of the crime scene, but he was known to have an ongoing relationship with Martinez,” stated County Attor-ney Brad Carlyon.
   Since the charges were dismissed without prejudice, the case can be brought back before a grand jury, but not until physical evidence can be found.
   “If we were to go forward with the evidence that we do have, we could lose the case. An individual can only be held for a certain length of time before receiving a trial, so we were forced to release him when the charges were dismissed,” explained Carlisle.
   Shabi has had numerous encounters with the law, beginning in 1968 when the then 17 year old was convicted of aggravated battery when he attempted to stab a police officer. In 1974, Shabi was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon when he purposefully shot a 15-year-old girl in the leg. In June 1976, he was convicted of robbery and aggravated assault after stabbing a man numerous times. In that same year, Shabi was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon after he stabbed a man outside of a local bar.
   In 1978, Shabi was again arrested. He and his sister were hitchhiking from Winslow to their home in Indian Wells when a couple stopped and offered to give them a ride. Once en route, the driver informed Shabi that he wouldn’t be able to drive the siblings all the way to their residence. In response, Shabi report-edly drew a knife and stabbed the driver multiple times and sliced his throat.
   In 1983, Shabi and his brother were found guilty of murder in a case where they had kidnapped two men, took them to their residence in Indian Wells and stabbed them multiple times before slicing their throats, killing them both.
   Shabi served 20 years in a federal prison for killing the two men, but while serving his sentence was convicted of a third murder, that of an inmate who died while he was incarcerated in the Florence peniten-tiary.
   Shabi was released in 2005, and was on work release when he met Martinez in 2006. He and Martinez were a couple until the time of her death.
   “Our government doesn’t allow us to swoop down and arrest people for things that we think they may do; we have to have proof in order to convict someone of a crime,” stated Carlyon.
   “At this point, what we’re looking at is if we are going to try this case, then we have to have the evi-dence to make sure it sticks. Without it we could lose,” he said.