Husband Arrested: Man Had Restraining Order
Police find man hiding in closet, charge him in wife's stabbing death
By Sara Michael, Journal staff writer
Originally published in The Fairfax Journal, July 25, 2002
The estranged husband of a Gaithersburg woman stabbed to death in her home Saturday was found and arrested Wednesday in connection with her death.
Michael Jerome Bryant, 32, of no current fixed address, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Donna Lyn Martin.
About 5 a.m. Wednesday, police received a 911 call, alerting them to Bryant's location. Police found him hiding in a closet of an apartment in the 400 block of North Summit Avenue in Gaithersburg.
Police arrived at the home and a resident, an acquaintance of Bryant, told police that Bryant was not in the apartment, police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said. Police searched the home and found him in a closet, Baur said. She said he wouldn't comply with officers' requests and police used a Taser gun to subdue Bryant before placing him under arrest.
"There was a struggle, and it was a really excellent job on the part of our officers," Baur said.
Martin, 32, of the 9300 block of Merust Lane, was found in her home about 5:20 p.m. Saturday, suffering from numerous stab wounds to her upper body, police said. She was taken to a local trauma center, where she later died from her wounds. Police issued an arrest warrant for Bryant the next day.
A bond review hearing is expected for Bryant today.
Neighbors called police Saturday after they saw someone assaulting Martin, police said.
In April 2001, Martin obtained a restraining order against Bryant, claiming he had stabbed her, leaving her with deep wounds that required 14 stitches, according to court papers.
Martin told police Bryant approached her while she was on her way to work, grabbed her by the shoulder and yelled at her about who was going to raise their three young children, according to court documents. The couple had been separated for a year in April 2001, according to charging documents.
Bryant was arrested April 9 and charged with assault and later acquitted. He was also charged with attempted second-degree murder for stabbing Martin, according to court documents. The state couldn't prove him guilty.
The restraining order against Bryant was renewed April 17 and extended through Aug. 19, court documents state.
In the April 2001 petition to extend the protective order, Martin claimed her husband was "very violent," court documents state. She said the county Health and Human Services Department had issued a report stating the department is "concerned that he might endanger me and the children," according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Tuesday Martin was holding her youngest child at the time of the stabbing, but police said it was unclear where the other children were.
Martin, on probation for theft charges from an August 1999 incident, requested to be excused from her probation so she could move out of the state. She claimed she was afraid of her estranged husband, but a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge denied her request.
Judge Durke G. Thompson said Tuesday he denied her request because her probation was helping her turn her life around and that she would be no safer out of state.
Thompson said Martin had a "significant drug problem" and a criminal history and her plan to move to Tennessee would not benefit her.
Representatives from the Maryland chapter of the National Organization for Women have said they disagreed with Thompson's decision and planned to investigate the circumstances of Martin's death and the roles Thompson and the state's attorney's office played.
