JOZLYNN MARTINEZ - 2 yo (2010) - Grand Rapids MI

GRAND RAPIDS -- Police say a man wanted in connection with an Amber Alert and a missing 2-year-old girl in Grand Rapids was arrested tonight in the Lansing area, but the child was not with him.
Police said Jeffrey Lynn Malmberg was arrested about 6:30 p.m.
Authorities say they still do not know where Jozlynn Martinez is, and continue to try and track the little girl's whereabouts.


It's unknown if the girl was ever with Malmberg, or what Malmberg may have told police about her whereabouts.
Earlier today, police issued an Amber Alert for Jozlynn, saying the
girl allegedly taken by Malmberg, her mother's boyfriend, sometime
Monday night or early Tuesday.
Authorities initially said they believed Malmberg, 40, abducted
Jozlynn from the Northwest Side home he shares with the girl's mother,
Consuela Martinez, and that he took $2,800 from her purse.
The Kent County Prosecutor's office today issued a warrant charging Malmberg with kidnapping and larceny.
Malmberg, described by police as a former crack addict, has lived
with the girl's mother for 1 1/2 years and have a child together. They
live in the 900 block of Nagold Street NW.
Malmberg is not Jozlynn's father and has no custodial rights.
Jozlynn's mother told police that she last saw the girl in bed about
11:30 p.m. on Monday and that she was gone at 9 a.m. Tuesday when
Martinez woke up.
She presumed the two were running errands and would be returning as
Malmberg has done before. Martinez checked in with friends an family
throughout the day and was unable to locate either Malmberg or the girl.
Malmberg was last seen in the Heartside District around 2 p.m.
Tuesday without the girl, police said. The suspect likes to hang out in
downtown Grand Rapids, authorities said.

Jozlynn is 2-feet-9-inches tall and weighs about 22 pounds. She has
brown eyes, brown hair and a spot on the right side of her head that
doesn't grow hair. She walks with her feet turned inward and also has a
scab on her chin, her mother told police.
Police ask anyone with information to immediately call 911 or 616-456-3604.

The suspect in an AMBER Alert has been found, but a search for the
two-year-old girl continues. Jozlynn Mari Martinez was last seen by
her mother late Monday night. When the girl's mother woke up, her
daughter and Jeffrey Malmberg were not at the home. Malmberg, who's a
drug addict and has a seven-month-old child with the girl's mother, was
found around yesterday evening in Lansing. The toddler is described as
two-feet-nine-inches tall, 22 pounds and has brown eyes, brown hair and
a scab on her chin. She also has a spot on the right side of her head
with no hair and walks with her feet turned inward.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Police today refuted Consuela Martinez's statements that she's a target in the investigation surrounding the disappearance of her 2-year-old daughter, Jozlynn.
"We consider her a witness at this time," Grand Rapids police Capt.
Jeff Hertel said. "She came down here (the police station) voluntarily
and left on her own.
"She cooperated for many hours and answered our questions. I think she's had, everybody's had, a long morning and is tired."
Martinez said this morning that she was questioned by investigators for nearly 12 hours.
"They're basically accusing me of doing it," Martinez said. "They
said it had to be somebody close to her, but I didn't have nothing to
do with it.
"I want my little girl back. I feel like they think I did it."
Martinez, 21, has not been charged with any offense.
Her boyfriend, Jeffrey Malmberg, is accused of kidnapping and larceny for the alleged $2,800 theft from Martinez's purse.
Martinez reported to police Tuesday night that Malmberg took the child.
When he was arrested near Lansing on Wednesday, Jozlynn was not with him.
Consuela Martinez said police have taken her 7-month-old son, Brian, into child protective services custody. She is currently in a court hearing to determine if the child will stay in state custody.
The boy is Malmberg's child, but Jozlynn's father is John Mark
Rittenhouse, 26. Efforts to reach Rittenhouse have been unsuccessful.

GRAND RAPIDS -- An arraignment hearing for Jeffrey Malmberg, the suspect in the
alleged abduction of 2-year-old Jozlynn Martinez, has been adjourned until Friday.



Malmberg was to appear in Grand Rapids District Court at 1:30 p.m.
today to be formally charged with kidnapping Jozlynn and larceny for
his alleged theft of $2,800 from the girl's mother, Consuela Martinez.
Court records show Malmberg is now scheduled to appear in court at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Looking tired and haggard, fatigued with worry over her missing
2-year-old daughter, Consuela Martinez faced a media onslaught Thursday
in a courthouse hallway.
The young mother had no answers.
Her live-in boyfriend is in custody for allegedly kidnapping Jozlynn Martinez
on Tuesday, but the child is nowhere to be found. Consuela Martinez was
in Kent County Family Court in hopes of keeping her other child, a
7-month-old son Child Protective Services took away from her Thursday
morning.
She said she is begging police for answers.
"At least give me a little bit of hope that Jozlynn might still be alive," a distressed Martinez said.
Prosecutors postponed Thursday's scheduled arraignment for the
boyfriend, Jeffrey Malmberg, who was arrested near Lansing two days
after he and the girl both went missing from the couple's Nagold Street
NW home. The child was not with him when he was found.
Martinez's hearing in Family Court also was adjourned until March 11
because Malmberg, 40, the father of 7-month-old Brian, was not assigned
an attorney for the proceeding.
While Martinez believes she is under the suspicion of police, and was interviewed for hours, detectives refute her claim.
Police Capt. Jeff Hertel said authorities are working on the premise that Jozlynn is alive and well.
"We have nothing to indicate or to say she's not," Hertel said.
"We're not naive enough to believe that it's not possible something has
happened, but we're hoping she's somewhere safe and with someone who,
for some reason, hasn't called to let us know yet."
Malmberg has denied any involvement in the girl's disappearance, Hertel said.
The suspect, also charged with larceny for allegedly stealing $2,800
from Martinez's purse, was arrested in a Lansing business Wednesday
night after another customer recognized him from media coverage, police
said.

Malmberg
told police he left the Northwest Side house, went downtown and hung
around the Heartside District. Later Tuesday, he took a cab to a 76th
Street truck stop intending to hitch a ride to Lansing.
When that didn't work, Malmberg called a cab and paid the fare to
Lansing. Hertel declined to say why Malmberg went to the capital city.
The cabbie who drove Malmberg to Lansing was interviewed by police. He declined a request for comment.
At the courthouse Thursday, Martinez speculated that Malmberg, the
father of her 7-month-old, took the girl because he was upset Martinez
wanted him to leave the home, and she had voiced concerns to him about
finding bruises on Jozlynn.
"I don't know if he took her to keep her safe or prove me wrong,"
she said. "Everybody thinks he has her hidden somewhere with somebody,
or he's done something to her."
Martinez told police she last saw her daughter in bed about 11:30
p.m. on Monday in her home, 915 Nagold St. NW. When Martinez woke up at
9 a.m. Tuesday, she said her daughter was gone.
She told police she assumed her daughter was running errands with
Malmberg, who she lived with for 1 1/2 years. Martinez checked in with
friends and family throughout the day and was unable to locate either
Malmberg or the girl.
"All the sudden, he never came home," Martinez said.
Court records show the couple has a rocky history, with the
21-year-old taking out a personal protection order against Malmberg.
Documents show he violated the order twice and served seven days in
jail.
Relatives of Martinez accuse Malmberg of having drug problems. They
say they are frustrated police did not issue an Amber Alert for Jozlynn
as early as Tuesday night. It was issued Wednesday afternoon.
But police say they needed time to investigate the girl's possible whereabouts.
"It takes time when the person is with someone who's been a
caregiver," Hertel said of not issuing the advisory until about 4 p.m.
Wednesday. "If it had been a stranger, it may have been different."
Police have since worked around the clock, first to locate Malmberg and subsequently to try to find Jozlynn.
More than a dozen detectives and FBI agents knocked and searched
every house in the neighborhood, Hertel said. Authorities have followed
tips and conducted multiple interviews.
"We're doing everything we can," he said.
The investigation strikes a chord with most, and people are helping police, Hertel said.
"People realize the potential here," he said. "The vulnerability of
the age and the time of the year, people are genuinely concerned."
Thursday was not the first time Martinez has run afoul with Child Protective Services.
She acknowledges that last year, CPS investigated her home on a
report of it being too dirty, but she was allowed to keep Jozlynn at
that time because she agreed to get family counseling. Later, when
Brian was born, she took parenting classes as required by CPS.
Martinez is concerned police suspect her of wrongdoing.
"They said that because (Jeff) was controlling of me, they thought
it was a possibility he has Jozlynn and I'm covering up for him," she
said. "That's not the case.
"It's just really hard they would suspect me," she said.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:Looking tired and haggard, fatigued with worry over her missing
2-year-old daughter, Consuela Martinez faced a media onslaught Thursday
in a courthouse hallway.
The young mother had no answers.
Her live-in boyfriend is in custody for allegedly kidnapping Jozlynn Martinez
on Tuesday, but the child is nowhere to be found. Consuela Martinez was
in Kent County Family Court in hopes of keeping her other child, a
7-month-old son Child Protective Services took away from her Thursday
morning.
She said she is begging police for answers.
"At least give me a little bit of hope that Jozlynn might still be alive," a distressed Martinez said.
Prosecutors postponed Thursday's scheduled arraignment for the
boyfriend, Jeffrey Malmberg, who was arrested near Lansing two days
after he and the girl both went missing from the couple's Nagold Street
NW home. The child was not with him when he was found.
Martinez's hearing in Family Court also was adjourned until March 11
because Malmberg, 40, the father of 7-month-old Brian, was not assigned
an attorney for the proceeding.
While Martinez believes she is under the suspicion of police, and was interviewed for hours, detectives refute her claim.
Police Capt. Jeff Hertel said authorities are working on the premise that Jozlynn is alive and well.
"We have nothing to indicate or to say she's not," Hertel said.
"We're not naive enough to believe that it's not possible something has
happened, but we're hoping she's somewhere safe and with someone who,
for some reason, hasn't called to let us know yet."
Malmberg has denied any involvement in the girl's disappearance, Hertel said.
The suspect, also charged with larceny for allegedly stealing $2,800
from Martinez's purse, was arrested in a Lansing business Wednesday
night after another customer recognized him from media coverage, police
said.

Malmberg
told police he left the Northwest Side house, went downtown and hung
around the Heartside District. Later Tuesday, he took a cab to a 76th
Street truck stop intending to hitch a ride to Lansing.
When that didn't work, Malmberg called a cab and paid the fare to
Lansing. Hertel declined to say why Malmberg went to the capital city.
The cabbie who drove Malmberg to Lansing was interviewed by police. He declined a request for comment.
At the courthouse Thursday, Martinez speculated that Malmberg, the
father of her 7-month-old, took the girl because he was upset Martinez
wanted him to leave the home, and she had voiced concerns to him about
finding bruises on Jozlynn.
"I don't know if he took her to keep her safe or prove me wrong,"
she said. "Everybody thinks he has her hidden somewhere with somebody,
or he's done something to her."
Martinez told police she last saw her daughter in bed about 11:30
p.m. on Monday in her home, 915 Nagold St. NW. When Martinez woke up at
9 a.m. Tuesday, she said her daughter was gone.
She told police she assumed her daughter was running errands with
Malmberg, who she lived with for 1 1/2 years. Martinez checked in with
friends and family throughout the day and was unable to locate either
Malmberg or the girl.
"All the sudden, he never came home," Martinez said.
Court records show the couple has a rocky history, with the
21-year-old taking out a personal protection order against Malmberg.
Documents show he violated the order twice and served seven days in
jail.
Relatives of Martinez accuse Malmberg of having drug problems. They
say they are frustrated police did not issue an Amber Alert for Jozlynn
as early as Tuesday night. It was issued Wednesday afternoon.
But police say they needed time to investigate the girl's possible whereabouts.
"It takes time when the person is with someone who's been a
caregiver," Hertel said of not issuing the advisory until about 4 p.m.
Wednesday. "If it had been a stranger, it may have been different."
Police have since worked around the clock, first to locate Malmberg and subsequently to try to find Jozlynn.
More than a dozen detectives and FBI agents knocked and searched
every house in the neighborhood, Hertel said. Authorities have followed
tips and conducted multiple interviews.
"We're doing everything we can," he said.
The investigation strikes a chord with most, and people are helping police, Hertel said.
"People realize the potential here," he said. "The vulnerability of
the age and the time of the year, people are genuinely concerned."
Thursday was not the first time Martinez has run afoul with Child Protective Services.
She acknowledges that last year, CPS investigated her home on a
report of it being too dirty, but she was allowed to keep Jozlynn at
that time because she agreed to get family counseling. Later, when
Brian was born, she took parenting classes as required by CPS.
Martinez is concerned police suspect her of wrongdoing.
"They said that because (Jeff) was controlling of me, they thought
it was a possibility he has Jozlynn and I'm covering up for him," she
said. "That's not the case.
"It's just really hard they would suspect me," she said.

No sympathy from me for this woman due to it being soooo hard on her that she is suspect.

These women continue to bring men into their homes because they want a bed fellow and/or a paycheck. They pay no attention to their children until there is a disappearance, rape, murder, etc. Then, they are the victims. Nope, not to me. Their poor neglected, abused children are the victims.

The suspect in the disappearance of a missing Grand Rapids toddler will
be in court today for his arraignment. Jeffrey Malmberg and
two-year-old Jozlynn Martinez disappeared Monday night from her
mother's home. Malmberg, a known drug addict, is the boyfriend to the
missing child's mother and had been arguing with the woman the night
before. He was found in Lansing about 6:30 Wednesday night, but the
toddler was not with him. The two-year-old girl is described as
two-feet-nine-inches tall, weighing 22-pounds with brown hair and brown
eyes. The toddler has a scab on her chin and a bald spot on the right
side of her head. She also walks with her feet turned inward.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Police Chief Kevin Belk says 2-year-old Jozlynn
Martinez, who disappeared earlier this week from her home on Grand
Rapids' west side, is dead.
Belk says Friday that 40-year-old Jeffrey Malmberg told
investigators that Jozlynn died Monday night at the home, and he placed
the child's body in a nearby trash container. Malmberg lived with
Jozlynn's mother, Consuela Martinez, but was not the toddler's father.
The Grand Rapids Press says police have searched the Kent County waste dump for the girl's body but have not found it.
Malmberg
was arrested Wednesday night in the Lansing area and was charged with
kidnapping Jozlynn. He also was charged with larceny for allegedly
taking $2,800 from Martinez's purse. He remains held on $1 million bond
in the Kent County Jail.

Jozlynn Martinez died Monday night in her home and her body was
disposed of in a trash receptacle, said Grand Rapids police chief Kevin
Belk late Friday. In a statement, Belk said Jeffrey Malmberg
admitted to investigators the 2-year-old died in the home and he
disposed of her body. Police have been searching the Kent County
Waste-to-Energy facility. Belk said the child's body has not been found, and would not say whether police believed the death was accidental or deliberate. Jozlynn's mother, Consuela Martinez, still hopes the police and Malmberg are wrong about her daughter being dead. "I
know they are looking for her body. If they don't find it, I won't have
closure, and my son won't have closure. We have no proof," Martinez
said. Malmberg was arraigned on kidnapping charges earlier Friday, and remains in jail on a $1 million bond. === Here's the full full text of Chief Belk's statment: On Tuesday, February 23, 2010, the Grand Rapids Police Department was notified of a missing 2 year-old child from 915 Nagold St NW. The mother of the child, Consuela Martinez, told police she last saw her child on Monday evening along with her live in boyfriend, Jeffery Malmberg, and a second child who is 7 months old. Martinez said when she woke up at 9 am on Tuesday morning,
Malmberg and her daughter, Jozlynn, were not at home. Also missing at
the time was money from the home. Martinez first thought that Malmberg,
who in the past has taken the child for a few hours in the morning, was
running errands and would be returning. Martinez checked throughout the
day with family and friends and was not able to locate Malmberg or
Jozlynn. On Wednesday afternoon, February 24,
2010, an Amber Alert was issued for both Jozylnn and Malmberg. The Kent
County Prosecutors Office authorized an arrest warrant charging
Malmberg with one count of kidnapping and one count of larceny. As
a result of the Amber Alert, a citizen contacted the Grand Rapids
Police Department. Malmberg was located in the City of Lansing. He was
returned to Grand Rapids and has spoken to investigators. The
suspect, Jeffery Malmberg, has told Grand Rapids Police Department and
FBI investigators that Jozlynn Marie Martinez died on Monday evening at
915 Nagold NW and that he disposed of her body in a nearby trash
receptacle. Grand Rapids Police Department and FBI personnel,
since last evening, have searched through over 200,000 pounds of trash
at the Kent County Waste to Energy Facility on Market Street SW. The
two-day search involved nearly 70 investigators. Despite our efforts,
we have yet to find Jozlynn's body. Our search continues at this hour.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Over days of repeated questioning by police,
Consuela Martinez told officers searching for her missing daughter the
same thing: The last time she saw little Jozlynn was late Monday night,
as the girl slept in her bed.
By then, the 2-year-old was already dead, Jeffrey Malmberg, the woman's live-in boyfriend, allegedly told police.
Malmberg, police said, admitted he carried the dead girl several
blocks from their home at 915 Nagold St. NW, dropped her in a
commercial Dumpster and headed out of town Tuesday, leaving the
toddler's body among trash for two days, before it was taken to a Kent
County garbage collection site.
It's a horrifying image of an alleged crime that captivated the
community, who wondered about the whereabouts and well-being of the
brown-eyed girl amid an Amber Alert that lasted for three days.
And it's a mystery that could continue, since police have not been
able to locate the girl's body after sorting through mountains of waste
at a disposal facility on Market Avenue SW.
It's also a story that Jozlynn's mother -- who is not a suspect -- and other relatives find hard to believe.
"All that guy (Malmberg) has done is lie, cheat and steal and,
without a body, this is just another game," said Retha Martinez, the
child's grandmother. "It don't seem feasible."(Conseula) was home all night, so how does she die? When does that
happen? Why would you put a dead girl in bed? None of it makes sense."
Martinez said her family continues to hope that Jozlynn will be found alive.
Police don't share that optimism, after using 70 officers and
federal agents to comb through 200,000 pounds of trash at the Kent
County Waste to Energy Facility since Malmberg's Thursday afternoon
admission.
"It's extremely disheartening," Police Chief Kevin Belk said. "Every
police officer who takes a report of a missing child, we hope and we
pray to find that child alive.
"This is a difficult day."
Police will continue the search at the waste facility, but Capt.
Jeff Hertel says it's possible Jozlynn's body has been incinerated.
Ninety percent of waste taken there is burned, police said.
Hertel said investigators identified the truck that picked up the
Dumpster where Malmberg, who is jailed on a kidnapping charge, said he
placed Jozlynn's body.
They tracked what time on Thursday morning -- pickup day and hours
before the alleged confession -- the truck came into the plant and
where it poured out the trash. That area has been isolated from where
150 trucks pile garbage daily.
Officers and plant workers have used a crane to pull tons of trash
into a front-end loader, which then spread it out for the hunt.
Police used a cadaver dog, which proved ineffective.
"It's too overwhelming, there's too much there," Hertel said of the odors that distracted the canine.
Police declined to comment on how Jozlynn died, or if Malmberg
confessed to killing her. Investigators said it has turned into a
homicide investigation.
Hours before Friday's news conference, Grand Rapids District Judge Jeanine LaVille arraigned Malmberg on kidnapping and larceny charges. She ordered him held on a $1 million bond because the suspect presented "an extreme danger to public safety."
Malmberg said little during the brief hearing. Leaning back in a
chair, the 40-year-old crossed his arms and his eyes darted back and
forth.
The suspect was arrested in Lansing on Wednesday night, a day after Martinez, 21, reported her boyfriend and Jozlynn missing.
The mother, who has a 7-month-old son with Malmberg, said Thursday
she believed Malmberg took Jozlynn to punish her for asking him to
leave to leave the house they shared for 1 1/2 years.
"I said something about how she was getting hurt. He said something
like, 'I would never do that. I love her like my own,'" she said.
Brian, the couple's son together, was taken into protective custody
Thursday because the circumstances of his sister's absence were not
known. He is to remain there until a March 11 hearing, authorities said.
The entire week has staggered and devastated the Martinez family, Jozlynn's grandmother said.
"We can't believe any of this is happening," she said. "We just
don't know what we can do next and how to stop from being overwhelmed.
"I guess they're looking for a needle in a haystack."
The family contends police did not promptly tell them about the search at the waste facility, something police strongly refuted.
Hertel said they were told Thursday before the exploration began.
"They're going through a lot right now," he said. "I don't think you ever give up on finding your child."
Retha Martinez said they intend to continue looking.
"We're going to search every inch of this city," she said.

TIMELINE
A timeline of events surrounding the disappearance of Jozlynn Martinez

Monday, 11:30 p.m.: Consuela Martinez, 21, says she last sees 2-year-old daughter Jozlynn sleeping in her bed.

Tuesday, 9 a.m.: Martinez wakes to find Jozlynn and live-in boyfriend Jeffrey Malmberg, 40, absent. She believes they're running errands.

Tuesday, 1:30 p.m.: Unable to contact or locate the pair,
Martinez searches on her own, telling a police officer her child and
boyfriend are missing. She is not alarmed and does not want to report
them missing, police said.

Tuesday, 9:30 p.m.: A formal missing person report is filed. Police begin checking with friends and family.

Wednesday, 4 p.m.: Authorities issue Amber Alert for Jozlynn.

Wednesday, 6:45 p.m.: Malmberg arrested in Lansing, denies any involvement with girl's disappearance.

Thursday: Malmberg tells police Jozlynn died inside 915
Nagold St. NW on Monday night and that he put her body in a nearby
Dumpster Tuesday morning. He then took a cab to Lansing.

Thursday: Police start tracking trash trucks and searching through waste at Kent County Waste to Energy facility on Market Avenue SW.

Friday, 5:30 p.m.: Police announce Jozlynn is dead and her
body has not been found, despite sorting through 200,000 pounds of
trash with 70 city, state and federal officers.

Around 5:30 Friday afternoon, police in Grand Rapids canceled the Amber Alert for Jozlynn Martinez.

In
a press conference Friday afternoon police said that Malmberg told them
that Jozlynn died Monday night at 915 Nagold NW and that he disposed of
her body in a nearby trash container.

Police have been searching for Jozlynn's body in the county waste dump, but have not yet recovered her remains.

Police say there are no charges planned for Jozlynn's mother.

Two-year-old
Jozlynn Martinez disappeared late Monday night from her own bed. Her
mother's boyfriend, Jeffrey Malmberg is the main suspect.

On Friday, Malmberg was arraigned on kidnapping and theft charges.

For
nearly four days, there was no sign of Jozlynn, and despite the fact
that the main suspect in her disappearance has been charged with
kidnapping, there are still many questions left unanswered about what
really happened.

Jeffrey Malmberg didn't say much during his
brief court appearance Friday morning. Malmberg has now officially been
charged with kidnapping Jozlynn Martinez and stealing money from her
mother, Consuela.

“I thought I knew him,” said Consuela, “I never thought he would do something like this.”

In
an interview with reporters on Friday, Consuela Martinez says she's
happy there's been some progress, but ultimately all she wants is her
daughter back.

“The charges don't help until I know where she is
at, where she is at, where she's at, who's she with, is she coming
home, is she safe, is she warm,” said Martinez.
Considering the circumstances, Friday was an extraordinarily quiet
day on many fronts. Grand Rapids police aren't talking about the case
and haven't said publicly what evidence they have to prove Malmberg
committed the crimes he's been accused of, or if there's a belief by
detectives that he harmed the child.

Friday saw no volunteer
searches, just the forensics unit outside the home, the signs on power
poles nearby. Jozlynn's family and friends weren't out searching for
her either, they say they're waiting for the police, but that inaction
is angering some who want parental responsibility.

“I'm very
pissed,” said neighbor Michael Hanson, “if that was my two-year-old
daughter out there I would not be home. I would not be in the area, I
would be out looking for my daughter.”

Hanson, angered by media reports, made a sign and put it in Jozlynn's front yard, he says he wants answers.

“I have tears in my eyes,” said Hanson, “and it makes me cry just thinking about it.”

As
investigators continue to search for Jozlynn, we're also getting a look
inside the pool hall where police arrested Jeffrey Malmberg.

The
owners of Pockets in Lansing say Malmberg came in on Wednesday night.
He was alone, but a customer recognized him from an Amber Alert photo,
and they immediately called police.

“He never acted like he was
concerned about anything,” said witness Robert Mack, “scared of getting
caught or worried about anyone coming in. He just basically felt safe.
We put two and two together, never led on with anybody here that the
police were coming, and they walked in and he really didn't have a
chance to do anything. He went very peacefully."



This story began with a phone call Tuesday morning, when Jozlynn's mother called to say her daughter and boyfriend were missing.



Police called relatives and friends, but
when they found no sign of Jozlynn or Jeffrey Malmberg, they issued an
Amber Alert on Wednesday afternoon.



Later on Wednesday, police arrested Malmberg in Lansing.



On Friday Police said Malmberg told them that Jozlynn had died on Monday night and that he threw her body in the garbage.



Police are not saying how Jozlynn died.



On Friday, Malmberg was charged with kidnapping and theft.

GRAND RAPIDS -- Grand Rapids Police detectives visited Consuela Martinez, mother of missing toddler Jozlynn Martinez, at the family home on Nagold Street NW, just after 8 p.m. Saturday.
The investigation continues into the whereabouts of toddler Jozlyn
Martinez,who was reported missing by her mother on Tuesday. On Friday, police said Jozlynn is presumed dead.
Consuela Martinez, 21, has said she last saw her the brown-eyed
daughter late Monday night. She said her live-in boyfriend, Jeffrey
Lynn Malmberg, took the girl and nearly $3,000 in cash.
But in a press conference Friday, Police Chief Kevin Belk said
Malmberg told investigators the tot died at the Nagold Street home on
Monday night. Belk said Malmberg described tossing the child's lifeless
body in the trash. Police have not yet found the child's body.
Consuela Martinez is not a suspect, police said.
Malmberg, arraigned on kidnapping charges tied to Jozlynn Martinez's disappearance, initially denied involvement.

Consuela Martinez went to the Kent County Jail on Saturday, looking
for answers from her boyfriend — the man police say threw her
2-year-old daughter’s lifeless body into the trash.
She emerged from the jail visit 30 minutes later, crying and clearly
frustrated by a fruitless meeting with Jeffrey Malmberg. He refused her
pleas for new information about what had happened to Jozlynn Martinez,
her brown-eyed daughter who had been missing since Tuesday morning.
“I can’t believe he would do something like this,” the sobbing
21-year-old said outside the jail’s visitor entrance. He told her
nothing new, she said.
“It’s just everything he’s been saying.”
Grand Rapids police on Saturday continued to hunt for Jozlynn’s
remains, sorting through refuse they removed from a disposal facility
on Market Avenue SW and took to a separate, undisclosed location.
Police have said they are treating this as an homicide
investigation, but would not comment on whether Malmberg has confessed
to causing the child’s death, or said exactly how she died. He remains
jailed on a kidnapping charge.
Police now believe Jozlynn died inside the Nagold Street NW home
where her mother lived with Malmberg. On Friday, police revealed that
Malmberg told them he removed the girl’s body, carried it several
blocks and put it in a commercial Dumpster — all after his girlfriend
had gone to bed late Monday night.
“We have now gone to the realization that more than likely she is
deceased, and we’re trying to recover a body right now,” Lt. Ralph
Mason said Saturday. Police were able to isolate trash from that
particular Dumpster, but there is a chance her body already has been
incinerated, he said.
Like her mother, the community is waiting for answers to the
mystery, which came to public attention Wednesday, when police issued
an Amber Alert for Jozlynn and said they were looking for Malmberg.
Malmberg, 40, was arrested Wednesday night in Lansing. The next day, he told police
Jozlynn died inside the home Monday night, and he disposed of her body Tuesday before heading out of town.
Police will not give up the search for Jozlynn’s body, Mason said.
“This investigation is nowhere near complete,” Mason said. “Not only
for the family’s sake, but the whole community that has been affected
by this.”
The couple have a 7-month-old, Brian, who was taken into protective
custody Thursday because of the circumstances surrounding his sister’s
disappearance. He is expected to remain there until a March 11 hearing.

The family of Jozlynn Martinez says they want the amber alert
re-issued even through Grand Rapids Police believe the child is dead.
Detectives are working through the weekend trying to find the two year old's body.
Police say suspected kidnapper Jeffrey Malmberg told them Jozlynn died Monday night.
He then claimed to have dumped her body in a trash bin.
Jozlynn's grandmother says Consuela Martinez, the child's
mother, visited Malmberg in the Kent County Jail Saturday trying to get
more information from him, but he didn't tell her anything that could
help her find Jozlynn.
Later in the day, detectives interviewed Martinez at her home.
Consuela Martinez is not suspect and she says she will not believe her daughter is dead until a body is found.
The family wants the Amber Alert to stay in effect until Jozlynn is found.
The family has also had the case posted on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website.