Jozlynn Martinez Missing Person Case

Dec 17, 2010

Jul 09, 2019

Jozlynn

Martinez

18

2

33 inches

22 lbs

White / Caucasian

Female

In the late hours of February 22, 2010, two-year-old Jozlynn Mari Martinez was in her home on Nagold Street in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her mother, Consuela Martinez, reported hearing her daughter in her bedroom between 11:00 and 11:30 p.m. The following morning, on February 23rd, a devastating discovery was made; Jozlynn was not in her room and was nowhere to be found. Also missing from the home was Consuela's live-in boyfriend, Jeffrey Lynn Malmberg, along with $2,800 in cash from her purse. Initially, Consuela thought Malmberg might have taken Jozlynn to run errands, but as the day progressed with no sign of them, she grew increasingly concerned and eventually filed a police report that evening. Jozlynn was a young girl with sandy, shoulder-length hair, and hazel eyes. She had a few distinguishing marks, including a scab on her chin from a recent injury, a birthmark and a bald spot on the right side of her head, and a faint birthmark on her left leg. The investigation quickly focused on Jeffrey Malmberg, who was not Jozlynn's biological father. An Amber Alert was issued, and two days later, on February 24th, Malmberg was located and arrested in Lansing, Michigan; however, Jozlynn was not with him. Once in custody, the horrifying truth of what happened to the little girl began to unfold. Malmberg provided investigators with a confession, stating that Jozlynn had died in their home on the night she was last seen. He claimed he had disposed of her body in a nearby trash receptacle. This led to a large-scale search of the Kent County Waste to Energy Facility, where authorities sifted through over 200,000 pounds of trash in a desperate attempt to find her remains, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. Throughout the investigation and his subsequent trial, Jeffrey Malmberg gave conflicting accounts of Jozlynn's death. In one version, he told Consuela in a jailhouse phone call that Jozlynn had tragically died after falling down the stairs and that he had panicked, leading him to dispose of her body. However, he later admitted to police that he had become frustrated with the two-year-old and had suffocated her by kneeling on her chest until she stopped breathing. At his trial in October 2010, Malmberg claimed Jozlynn's death was accidental, but the jury convicted him of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to a lengthy prison term of up to 90 years. The disappearance of Jozlynn Martinez is a heartbreaking case of a young life cut short. Despite the conviction of the man responsible for her death, Jozlynn's body has never been recovered, leaving her family with a profound and unending sense of loss. The case serves as a somber reminder of the devastating impact of violence against children and the lasting pain it inflicts on their loved ones and the community.

Feb 22, 2010

Grand Rapids

Michigan

Kent County

49504

27313

Grand Rapids Police Department

Grand Rapids

Michigan

Kent County

49503

Greg Griffin

Sgt. Major Case Team

1 Monroe Center NW, Michigan

6164563400

Local

Law Enforcement

10LN25

Grand Rapids Police Department

Sandy

Hazel

Hazel

07/09/2026