The son of a man who prosecuted the Richard Speck murder trial was charged with heroin possession after police investigated a Facebook posting in which he claimed to be holding a woman hostage in his west suburban home.
Douglas J. Martin + marijuana, heroin and drug paraphernalia, Douglas J. Martin, 38, of the 400 block of Uvedale Court in Riverside is charged with possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of cannabis, a release from Riverside police said. Police said Martin is the son of attorney William J. Martin, who was the chief prosecutor in the trial of mass murderer Richard Speck.
About 1:25 p.m. Sunday, police received a call from someone concerned about a Facebook posting in which Martin said he was holding a woman against her will. The Chicago man said he met Martin at a rehab center years ago and noticed the posting when he checked Martin’s Facebook page, the release said.
The post said Martin was holding a Korean female against her will inside his residence, but when police showed up at Martin’s residence, he denied the kidnapping and gave officers permission to search for the alleged victim, the release said.
There was no woman, but police did find drug paraphernalia, small clear plastic bags strewn on the floor and 14 capsules which tested positive for heroin. Also found were pill bottles filled with cannabis. The downstairs bathroom was trashed with more than 100 cigarette butts scattered around. Inside the bathroom were numerous empty capsules and a white powder residue all over the sink and inside bathroom vanity drawers.
Once in custody, Martin said he once lived with a Korean woman but no longer spoke with her. Officers contacted the Chicago woman, who said she had not seen Martin in more than five years, but continues to get harassing phone calls and emails from him.
Martin admitted posting on Facebook that he was holding a Korean woman as a kidnap victim in his basement, but told police the message was part of a project he was working on for a creative writing class.
“Douglas Martin’s statement that his posting was part of a creative writing class for a school project is simply ridiculous,” Riverside Chief Tom Weitzel said in the release. “His Facebook posting was created to generate a reaction from his ex-girlfriend, however, a former acquaintance saw the posting first and contacted police.”
Weitzel said Martin told police he been a drug addict for 18 years, and attributed the Facebook posting to that addiction.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
