Victim dead, repeat offender to face murder charge for last week's Seattle hammer attack

SEATTLE (KOMO) — The man arrested for attacking another man with a hammer in downtown Seattle is expected to face a murder charge.

Seattle police said the 53-year-old man who was hit in the head with a hammer while being robbed died from his injuries on Thursday. They also confirmed homicide detectives “will assume responsibility" for the case.

The attack happened last Friday, Jan. 13, in the afternoon.

Officers arrested Christopher Martin, 34, down the street, shortly after the attack. He's already charged with first-degree assault and first-degree robbery.

Court documents said police were conducting a narcotics surveillance operation in the area when an officer saw Martin near a bus stop with a hammer in his hand. The officer became concerned, took a photo, and sent it to the other officers.

Also, a plainclothes officer saw Martin waving the hammer and screaming at people, thenapproach the victim who was “attempting to cut the lock off of a bike using an orbital grinder which was sending sparks into the air,” according to court documents. He walked away, and Martin followed.

Witnesses told police they saw Martin hit the victim in the head with the hammer. Court documents said he took "a hammer strike to the right temple area of the head," causing a skull fracture.

Surveillance cameras captured Martin “raising the hammer above his shoulder, swinging it at the victim’s head, and the victim collapsing to the ground,” according to court documents. The documents said Martin then stood over the victim, grabbed his backpack, and walked away.

The assault appears unprovoked,” according to court documents.

The plainclothes officer saw the victim on the ground with Martin standing “only a few body lengths away,” documents said. That officer called out Martin’s description. Martin was arrested while other officers gave the victim first aid and CPR until paramedics arrived.

Court documents said Martin denied assaulting the victim and told investigators another man “socked” him.

Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said Martin spent three months in jail for robbery last year and was supposed to go to a behavioral health facility, but defense lawyers argued that he be released on personal recognizance.

Unfortunately, now we’re in a spot where there’s a new victim, who the prosecutor’s office is following up with, and a new case we need to charge," McNerthney told KOMO on Tuesday. "To see the details in those court documents, that’s what prosecutors are going to court for. That's why we’re arguing somebody should not be released without clear follow-through and follow-up.

Also according to prosecutors, Martin violated the terms of his release when he was arrested for assaulting a grocery store security guard. McNerthney said that case was not referred for charges.

Now, Martin is being held at the King County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail. Prosecutors had argued he was a “danger to the community,” and the judge agreed.