Dec 25, 2014 2 min read

The state Supreme Court denied a request to reargue the case of Jeffrey Robert Martin, who was sentenced to death by a Greene County jury six years ago for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old Greensboro girl.

The court affirmed the verdict and death sentence for Martin on Sept. 24. It denied the application for reargument in a two-sentence order issued Dec. 18.

Martin, 57, of New Geneva, raped and strangled Gabrielle Bechen June 13, 2006, when she left her home to visit a nearby horse farm where he worked as a farmhand. Martin used a backhoe to dig a grave, where he placed her body, and hid her all-terrain vehicle and belongings elsewhere on the farm.

Searchers looked for Bechen for five days before two volunteers found the girl’s ATV buried in manure. That discovery led to Martin’s arrest and his eventual confession.

On May 9, 2008, following a six-day trial, Martin was found guilty on all counts, including first-degree murder, rape and aggravated indecent assault. During his trial, Martin took the stand to recant his confession. He claimed another man was responsible for the girl’s death.

The following day it took jurors less than an hour to decide Martin should be put to death for the crime.

In arguing for the death sentence, prosecutors alleged two aggravating circumstances: Martin killed Bechen during the course of raping her and Martin killed the girl to keep her quiet about the sexual assault.

Mitigating circumstances raised by the defense included that Martin grew up in a household rife with alcoholism, physical and sexual abuse and neglect and that he was borderline mentally disabled.

Martin is currently an inmate at SCI-Graterford, according to the state Department of Correction web site.