Now that police have arrested Martell DeRouen‘s accused killer, we are learning more about the victim‘s relationship with the young woman police say murdered him.
Sasha Skare, 21, was arrested Saturday after investigators say she allegedly shot and killed Martell inside The Towers Apartments along La Cantera Parkway back in late January.
”He released a mixtape called Trunk Bang, and he wanted some girls for a video shoot and he honestly just met her online,” said Joia DeRouen, Martell‘s wife. ”When you know, the video shoot was over. He said, hey, you know, she‘s interested in music. I think I want to help her out.”
Martell, who performed under the name Kardone, was related to Beyoncé by her grandmother Agnes DeRouen.
”He never really talked about it, bragged about it, or anything like that,” Joia said. ”He said, You know, I know that people other than me would try to use that to get some type of fame. You know, kind of like a latch on type person or a coattail rider is what he would say I‘m not, I‘m going to make my own way. I want people to know me for me.”
Joia described Martell as the hard-working type with an ear for music that everyone loved.
She added that although she and Martell were separated, she admired him for his work ethic.
”Regardless of the fact that we were separated, we still were like best friends,” Joia said.
So in late January, when Joia could not get ahold of Martell, she said she started to worry.
”I was blowing up his phone, actually texting, calling, trying to even FaceTime,” Joia said. ”You know, it happened once before where he hadn‘t responded to me or his family, but we found out that he broke his phone. So that in the back of our mind is what we were thinking,”
Joia also found that Martell‘s step-mother was struggling to contact him.
”He was supposed to have a show that he was headlining on Saturday but he didn‘t post anything about it,” Joia said. ”So, you know, we really got concerned and his step-mom was like, well, I‘m going to call a wellness check.”
Joia said around 1 o‘clock on Tuesday, Jan. 26 she drove to Martell‘s apartment complex to find out what was going on.
”By the time I got there, the place was just surrounded by police officers, they wouldn‘t let me go upstairs, they wouldn‘t tell me about what was going on,” Joia said. ”They were only giving me little bits and pieces.”
According to Skare‘s arrest affidavit, an officer was sent to Martell‘s apartment when the welfare check was called.
After arriving, the officer noticed a bullet hole in Martell‘s front door.
Court documents show the officer tried to get a response but eventually had to ask management at the complex for help getting inside.
The officer entered the apartment and saw Martell lying on the floor with a gunshot wound.
”I had just seen him that Thursday, and he was so happy,” Joia said. ”You know, he was in music school, which he‘s always wanted to do. He‘s self-taught with everything that he does. But he said, you know, to have this certificate means a lot to me.”
According to an arrest affidavit, homicide detectives arrived at the complex and found evidence that a fight had taken place inside Martell‘s apartment.
Officers said there was evidence that suggested a gun was taken from the bedroom or closet and it was clear someone fired a gun outside the apartment and into the front door near the peephole while Martell stood on the other side.
Court documents also show investigators found surveillance video of a woman they believed was Skare walking around the apartment complex shortly after shots were fired. A witness later described Skare as the person who was banging on Martell‘s door.
Investigators gathered more video of Skare walking the complex hallways near Martell‘s apartment with a cell phone in one hand and a gun in the other.
Officers did more research and found someone placed a call to 911 on Friday, Jan 22 around 10:45 p.m.
Police said the caller claimed to be Martell‘s wife but the phone number did not belong to Joia and officers believed the person on the other line had a different voice than Joia.
The caller said she was locked out of her apartment and worried her husband, Martell, could be hurt inside.
According to the affidavit, police later discovered this caller was Skare after she slipped up and gave her last known address on O‘Connor Road instead of Martell‘s address.
”After she did what she did, she got scared, or I don‘t know what was going through her head. Maybe it was, you know, I‘m not taking responsibility for this and when she tried to call the police, she told them that this is his wife,” Joia said.
Joia added she was disgusted after hearing Skare had done this.
”So not only do you commit this horrible crime, but then you try to blame it on someone else because you‘re a coward, and you know you that you were wrong,” Joia said.
Skare is facing first-degree felony charges for murder. Her bond has been set at $500,000.
”I‘m going to make sure that for the crime with Martell, that he will get justice,” Joia said. ”No matter if I have to be at every court date. I want people to know what type of person she really is.”
