A Fateful Baseball Date: The Mysterious Disappearance of Leticia Martinez-Cosman

The story of Leticia Martinez-Cosman

By Rare StoriesPublished 2 years ago • Updated 2 years ago • 3 min read

Leticia Martinez-Cosman's immediate family lives in Encinitas, Calif., where she spent her childhood. But she and her former husband Craig Cosman moved to Seattle in the late 1990s when she was expecting Patrick, their son.

The last known photo of Leticia was the selfie she captured of herself and Brett Gitchel during a Seattle Mariners baseball game, this was their first date as a couple. However, she never returned to her apartment since that day.

Leticia “Leti” Martinez-Cosman, 58, did not know that going to the Seattle Mariners baseball game at T-Mobile Park on March 31 with Brett Gitchel would be the last time she would see her family.

She was a single mom and the main caretaker of her adult son who had special needs. She hardly ever went out for fun. But she was a passionate Mariners fan, and she enjoyed relaxing at the ballpark during baseball season.

She and Gitchel, 46, had met at a warehouse store food court a few weeks before their date. They shared a common interest in the Mariners, and Leticia invited him to join her for the next game.

Leticia took a picture with Gitchel at the game to remember their first date, but she vanished that night. The last time Martinez-Cosman, 58, contacted her family was that night when she sent them a picture of herself and Gitchel at the game.

Leticia's brother, Ricardo Martinez, alerted the police on April 2.

Investigation

According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, Gitchel had abducted Patrick Cosman, Leticia’s son, from their West Seattle house hours before she went missing. He took Patrick to a secluded place in Renton, Wash., where he tried to choke and kill him, but Patrick, 24, got away and contacted the police.

Gitchel showed up at the house where Martinez-Cosman and her son with special needs lived around 2 a.m. on April 2, several days after she disappeared. According to the investigators, Gitchel lied to her son that his mom was in the hospital and that he would take him there.

Her son said to the investigators that Gitchel drove for a long time, then stopped the car, got in the back seat with him, and then attempted to suffocate him with a bag over his head.

Patrick managed to fight back and run away to the forest where he phoned his dad in Texas, who then contacted 911.

Soon after, Leticia’s charred car was found, but she was still missing. The police concluded that someone had deliberately torched her car.

After almost two weeks, they found her body in a Renton ditch. She had died from strangulation, according to the police.

On April 5, the police arrested Gitchel and accused him of killing Leticia. He denied trying to murder and abduct Patrick, and he also denied killing Leticia. Gitchel had defense injuries from fighting back, such as wounds, scratches, and marks on his hands, when they arrested him.

Additionally, a gas station camera captured Gitchel buying a gas can, fuel, and a lighter.

"My sister was a very giving, trusting person. She always looked out for the best in anyone," says Ricardo. "I think this low-life thief targeted her. I guess he saw, 'Oh, she's got baseball tickets. I wonder if she's got money.' And when Leti somehow got in his way, he just killed her and tried to kill her son to cover his tracks." 'I think it's starting to hit me right now. But I'm trying to stay focused and get this resolved and then move on with what she had wanted to do.' Ricardo concluded.

Gitchel is being held on a $5million bail. The real motive behind this crime has not been revealed.