Leticia Martinez-Cosman snapped a selfie with Brett Gitchel while enjoying their first date at a Seattle Mariners baseball game, creating a lasting memory.
At a Seattle Mariners baseball game, Leticia Martinez-Cosman and Brett Gitchel took a photo to commemorate their first date. But she didn’t come home that evening.
Leticia “Leti” Martinez-Cosman didn’t know she’d never see her family again when she asked Brett Gitchel to the Seattle Mariners baseball game at T-Mobile Park on March 31.
Leticia, 58, was a single mother who also served as the primary caregiver for her adult son, who has special needs. But during baseball season, she allowed herself to take a break from the field because she was a devoted Mariners fan.
A few weeks before they met, Gitchel, 46, and Leticia bonded over their shared love of the Mariners, and Leticia offered to accompany him to the following game.
Leticia’s brother Ricardo Martinez, 53, who spoke with her just before the game, told PEOPLE that she “noticed he was wearing a Mariners hat and one thing led to another.” She decides to “just see how it goes” since she hasn’t been out in a while.
Leticia took a picture with Gitchel to remember their time together at the game, but she did not return home that evening. On April 2, Ricardo reported her missing.
According to the King County District Attorney’s office, an investigation revealed that Gitchel allegedly kidnapped Leticia’s son Patrick Cosman from the family’s West Seattle home hours before she reported the abduction. Patrick, 24, managed to escape and call for help after Gitchel allegedly tried to strangle and kill him in a secluded area of ​​Renton, Washington.
Leticia’s burnt-out car was found shortly afterward, but she was nowhere to be seen. Authorities determined her car was set on fire intentionally.
Her body was discovered in the Renton Ditch two weeks later. Authorities say she was strangled to death.
Gitchel was arrested on April 5 and charged with Leticia’s murder. In the case, Patrick filed a not guilty plea to Leticia’s murder, as well as charges of attempted murder and kidnapping.
“My sister was a kind and trustworthy individual. Ricardo recalls, “She was always looking for the best in others. “I believe she was the target of this robber. He must have seen she had baseball tickets. I’m not sure if she’s rich. He just killed Leti and tried to kill her son to cover his tracks when she somehow got in.” the way of his plans.
Leticia was raised in a close-knit family in Encinitas, California, but she and her then-husband Craig Cosman didn’t move to Seattle to have a family until Patrick was born in the late 1990s.
She first met Annie, her best friend, in Seattle. Annie, 55, recalls that “she’s just very fun-loving, sweet, and kind.” “The nicest person you’ll ever meet.”
Patrick moved to Texas to live with his father after his mother’s death. However, Ricardo is still in Seattle, where he continues to seek justice for his late sister.
I want Patrick to be happy and I want people to never forget Leticia, adds Ricardo. That would be justice in my eyes.
The heartbreaking disappearance of Leticia Martinez-Cosman serves as a grim reminder of the importance of personal safety and the devastating consequences that can result from encounters with individuals with sinister intentions.