CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Shelby woman was sentenced to prison for the killing of a Hickory man in December 2021, records show.
Bryana Salymar Martines, 25, was sentenced to 20-25 years after pleading guilty to second-degree in connection with the killing of 72-year-old Robert Bruce Godfrey on Dec. 1, 2021.
Godfrey was found dead in his Hickory apartment by his son, approximately three days after he was killed. Godfrey's son told investigators he went to check on him after emails and text messages went unanswered for a couple of days. The apartment was ransacked and his car was missing.
Martines and Abraham Adon Jr., another suspect in the case were found in Godfrey's car in Georgia a few days after he was found. Adon told Hickory Police that that he and Martines were dating for a couple of months before Godfrey's death and that she confided in him that she killed Godfrey by hitting him in the head several times with a glass bottle. An autopsy revealed that Godfrey died from blunt force trauma to the head.
Martines was arrested on Dec. 8, 2021, and told detectives she and Godfrey were involved in a relationship. When they broke up, Martines told police she started seeing Adon. Martines reportedly confessed to killing Godfrey during her final encounter with him.
Adon is still awaiting trial for his role in the case. Detectives initially expected to file charges against him for possession of a stolen vehicle and fleeing or eluding arrest, stemming from a police chase from Charlotte into South Carolina. He was not charged with Godfrey's death.
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