In the early morning hours of a late October Saturday in Coram, New York, the life of 33-year-old Martina Thompson was tragically cut short. On October 29, 2022, in the rear parking lot of a strip mall on Middle Country Road, a conversation between Thompson and a man would end in her untimely death. Surveillance footage from that morning captured Thompson speaking with a man later identified as Anthony Santiesteban.
The video shows the two talking before Thompson walked toward a fenced-in, desolate area behind the businesses. Santiesteban was seen following her into this secluded space.
Shortly after they disappeared from the camera's main view, at approximately 1:25 a.m., a gunshot rang out. Police responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired and discovered Thompson on the ground with a gunshot wound to her face. She was rushed to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue but was pronounced dead. The surveillance video later showed Santiesteban walking out of the fenced area, holding what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun, before getting into his Jeep and leaving the scene. Investigators believed that Thompson was the intended target of the attack.
Within days, the investigation led Suffolk County Police to 30-year-old Anthony Santiesteban of Centereach. He was arrested outside his home on November 1, 2022. A search of his bedroom uncovered a loaded and defaced 9mm handgun. Ballistics testing later confirmed that a bullet casing found next to Thompson's body was fired from the gun found in Santiesteban's possession. He was subsequently charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. At the time of the incident, Santiesteban, who had a prior criminal history including a conviction for first-degree burglary, was on probation.
Anthony Santiesteban was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. His trial concluded on June 24, 2024, when a Suffolk County jury found him guilty on all counts. On August 1, 2024, he was sentenced to a term of 40 years to life in prison for the murder of Martina Thompson, a young mother whose life was senselessly taken. The motive for the shooting remained under investigation throughout the legal proceedings.
