Amarilyss Martinez was an 8-year-old Hispanic girl who was shot and killed on June 24, 2019, at the Waterleaf Townhomes in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Her step-grandfather, Felix Rivera, was also killed in the attack; Amarilyss’s mother, Alyssa Maria Torres, admitted to police that she shot both victims and injured her own mother, Marisol Rivera, who survived with non-life-threatening wounds.

Torres, 30 at the time, fled the scene but was arrested hours later in Fort Pierce and found with the firearm reported as used in the killings, a Ruger 300 LCP that was taken from the master bedroom closet and hidden in Torres’s room before the shooting. She was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm and one count of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. Reports say a court hearing took place in December 2020 at which Torres changed her plea; she was sentenced to three consecutive life terms.

Amarilyss was a second-grade student remembered for her joyful spirit; hundreds attended a joint funeral for her and Felix Rivera at Christ Fellowship in Port St. Lucie. Does anyone have memories of Amarilyss or information about the days leading up to June 24, 2019?