Marvin Ernesto Funez-Martinez (Charles County Sheriff’s Office).
In Maryland, a 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 38 years in prison for brutally murdering a 22-year-old driver by stabbing him 59 times with a kitchen knife. The violent attack stemmed from a minor disagreement over a small sum of money. Charles County Circuit Court Judge Donine Carrington Martin handed down the sentence to Marvin Ernesto Funez-Martinez for the killing of Marco Alexander Pulido-Castro.
The tragic incident occurred on October 29, 2023, when police responded to a report of an assault and stabbing at a residence in White Plains. Upon arrival, emergency responders discovered Pulido-Castro’s lifeless body in the trunk of a Nissan Sentra, where he was found in a fetal position and pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigations revealed that Funez-Martinez had hired Pulido-Castro to drive him and two others to a nightclub in Washington, D.C. After a night out, Pulido-Castro drove them back to White Plains, where the brutal attack took place.
However, before they returned home, the victim pulled into a gas station and “requested additional money for gas” from Funez-Martinez. Pulido-Castro’s request angered Funez-Martinez, and the two were “involved in a small argument because the victim requested more money,” prosecutors said.
As they arrived back at Funez-Martinez’s home, Pulido-Castro’s car was overheating, so he remained outside while the others went inside the house.
“Funez-Martinez, who was already carrying a pocketknife, went inside his residence and retrieved a larger knife from the kitchen,” the release states. “The victim was checking under the hood of the vehicle when Funez-Martinez returned outside, and Funez-Martinez began stabbing the victim repeatedly. The victim tried to escape to a yard across the street, but Funez-Martinez followed him and continued to stab him. Funez-Martinez ultimately stabbed the victim 59 times and knocked out multiple teeth. After the stabbing, Funez-Martinez dragged the victim to his vehicle and placed his body in the trunk.”
After the attack, Funez-Martinez fled behind the home, but witness reports led police to locate him a short while later. Authorities noted that he had multiple cuts on his hands which were also covered in the blood of the victim. He later confessed to the murder.
During the sentencing hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Constance Kopelman emphasized the seemingly innocuous spat that led to Pulido-Castro’s death as well as the brutality of the attack.
“The defendant was particularly violent, extraordinarily dangerous. He needs to be incarcerated for as long as possible. He committed the most brutal murder I have ever seen. This was an awful way for Marco Alexander Pulido-Castro to die,” she said. “The defendant killed the victim over a really small amount of money that he actually owed the victim. [The victim] suffered. It was just cruel. It just doesn’t get more cruel than what he did to Marco Alexander Pulido-Castro. — He was brutally killed for working. He didn’t get to enjoy his later years. He didn’t deserve to take his last breath on Gateway Boulevard, face to the ground, being stabbed.”
