STAPLETON — Investigators caught the man accused of strangling a pregnant woman in Willowbrook Park after tracking him down on social media, cops said Monday.
Pedro Martin, 27, who was nabbed with the help of his Facebook page, murdered Megan Marotte, 20, after having sex with her in the park, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
He pleaded not guilty pleaded at his arraignment on Monday.
The ill-fated hookup began when Martin, also goes by the nickname "Bull," and Marotte met for the first time in front of a pizza parlor at 5 a.m. on Aug. 4, the commissioner said, then headed to a nearby a hotel for sex.
"They cannot get a room in the hotel because of his history at this hotel," said Kelly. "They then go to park and he strangles her."
After Marotte's family reported her missing on Aug. 7, police discovered surveillance video that captured the couple at the hotel.
Investigators showed the picture of Martin to drivers at car stops in the area.
"And one of the people stopped in a car said, 'That looks like 'Bull,'" said Kelly.
Investigators then identified Martin through searching social media.
"They were able to do some Facebook searches, having to do with someone Bull lived with," Kelly added. "And they looked at the picture and they identified him through the picture on Facebook."
Martin, who was arraigned in Staten Island Criminal Court in the afternoon, strangled Marotte in the park sometime between 6:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., according to court documents.
He was ordered held without bail by Judge Alan Meyer.
Nearly a dozen of Marotte's friends and family watched, many in tears, during the court appearance. Martin didn't speak during proceeding or look at Marotte's family.
Outside the court, Martin's lawyer, Eugene Lamb, said there may be problems with Martin's recorded confessions.
Lamb said his confession was made early in the morning, after Martin was with police for several hours, and expressed concern over the possibility Martin's request for a lawyer went unheeded.
