The Shocking Murder of Gina Martin

Episode #61 - The Shocking Murder of Gina Martin

[Shaun] 

Many of the cases we have covered are cases of domestic violence between married people, but this week we’re sharing a horrifying recent case of a murder that happened here in Las Vegas in broad daylight where the murderer was an ex-boyfriend of the victim

[John] 

This month is stalking awareness month, and while this case is a domestic violence homicide case, it also has a stalking component. Even years after the end of her relationship with the man who murdered her, he remained obsessed… watching, waiting, stalking her, and waiting for his opportunity.

(Music - Pause for 8 seconds)

[Shaun] 

Hi and welcome to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, where we focus on cases that deal with domestic violence, as well as missing persons and unsolved cases.

I’m your host, Shaun, and with me as always, is the one and only John.

[John] 

I am the only John in the room.

[Shaun] 

As we mentioned, January is stalking awareness month, and we’re taking the opportunity this month to highlight stories of stalking and also share statistics and resources specific to this horrifying dangerous, and pervasive problem that can happen between married couples, intimate partners, friends, and even strangers on the internet. It's surprising how easy it can be for someone to locate and harass another person based on the information that’s just available publicly.

[John] 

There’s a clear correlation between stalking and domestic violence. Here are some statistics to help illustrate that.

According to the National Center for Victims and Crime, between 60 and 80% of women who are stalked experience other forms of abuse such as physical violence or sexual assault. Stalking is also 

It’s estimated that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 17 men in the United States have experienced stalking at some point in their lives according to the Centers for Disease Control in their National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey

Most cases of stalking last between 6 months and 2 years, but can escalate in severity if not addressed according to Bureau of Justice statistics.

Victims of stalking, especially when it’s tied to domestic violence consistently report high levels of fear and anxiety with many of them experiencing PTSD, depression, and even difficulty maintaining employment because of ongoing harassment (from the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Reports).

[Shaun] 

We talked recently about the lethality assessment that victims of domestic violence can fill out to get an idea of what level of risk they are facing for very serious bad outcomes including being victims of homicide. If you’re interested in hearing that discussion you can find it on Apple podcasts or Patreon where you can subscribe for as little as $3 a month to get access to our weekly bonus episodes.

The Lethality Assessment itself is hosted at the Laurel Center, which was founded in 1981 as a shelter for abused women in Virginia. If you believe you might have risk factors, you can take the assessment for free at https://sinspod.co/la. Of course, if you have any of these risk factors, we encourage you to reach out to the resources we provide in the show notes and make sure you are safe.

Stalking is one of the top factors for domestic homicide. In situations involving stalking, the presence of a firearm also dramatically increases the likelihood of lethal violence.

Another topic we have touched on so many times is restraining orders which are a common and logical response to a stalking situation.  40% of women who obtain protective orders against a stalker report that the stalking continues despite the order.

With all of this context, that brings us to the case we want to discuss today. Do you want to start us off?

[John] 

Of course. Gina Rozell Martin was born on August 5th, 1987 right here in Las Vegas. One of the frustrating things we found when researching this case, possibly because it happened so recently, is that there’s relatively little information about Gina herself.

We know she has a brother named Sean, an 18-year-old son who had just graduated High School, and many, many friends who have a lot of great things to say about her. Her loved ones have said that she would do anything for her son, and he was her entire world. 

Her friend Ivan Williams told the Review-Journal that Gina was a person who motivated others and listened without judgment. Sean said his sister was generous and the kind of person you could talk to about your problems. 

Gina attended ITT Technical Institute and got a degree in Criminal Justice and Corrections after working at Hilton Grand Vacations for 4 ½ years. After she graduated, she went back into Hospitality and worked for Marriott.

You may not have heard of ITT Tech, but it was a well-known “for-profit” college that went out of business in 2016 because of a combination of regulatory actions, financial difficulties, accreditation problems, and accusations of deceptive practices.

She moved to Denver in 2015 and moved from working for major hotel chains into general hospitality, finally ending up at Remington Hotels as a brand performance manager where she’d been for over two years. 

Based on her LinkedIn and career trajectory she’d made a great career for herself in Hospitality, and in her current role, she worked with hotel chains helping them to improve their customer ratings. 

The job had her traveling to different places every week and she loved it. Her friends said she couldn’t turn off her cheery customer service personality, even when she wasn’t working.

[Shaun] 

Gina dated a man named Frederick Blanche for about a year and was engaged to him depending on who you ask. Some of her friends claimed they weren't “really engaged” but her brother Sean said they were, and he had given her a ring. Sean did say that he suspected she only accepted his proposal because he put her on the spot, or possibly because she “felt bad”.

Friends of hers said that she and Blanche had a toxic relationship, and he was obsessed with Gina, and in 2022 she confided in Sean that at one point she had received over 100 missed calls in a 2-hour timespan.

They also said that Blanche had threatened her life “countless times.” 

I want to mention here that Blanche had a previous violent felony conviction in Clark County. In 2005, he pleaded guilty to home invasion and robbery and served about 5 years in Ely State prison.  

Gina ended the relationship in 2022 and attempted to move on, but Blanche continued his obsession with her. Her friend Ivan said “It’s just been a series of him harassing her. I know that for a fact. He’s done it once when she was with me, like constantly calling her, trying to figure out where she was.”

In 2024 she was in Las Vegas for her 37th birthday weekend in August with her new boyfriend Bryan Marshall and also to see her son who had just graduated High School. She was considering moving back to Las Vegas to be closer to family and her son after nearly 10 years in Denver.

According to her friends, she was planning to celebrate with a pool party. 

[John] 

Gina and Bryan were at the Avis on West Sahara on Saturday August 3rd, around 12:30 PM, renting a car to use during their trip. After filling out the paperwork they headed out back to pick up the car. 

What they didn't know was that Frederick Blanche had figured out where they were based on social media posts, and was waiting for them.

Blanche jumped out of his White Chevy Silverado Pickup Truck and confronted them, pulling out a gun, and loading a magazine of bullets. A quickly escalating argument ensued and Brian was shot while he was running back into the office to get help, and so was Gina. He fired several shots at Brian, but he was able to get back to the office and tell them to call the police. Gina didn't make it.. She fell as she was running away, and Blanche walked up to her and shot her several times in the chest and head.

Witnesses in the area said they heard at least 20 gunshots and then saw Blanche get into his pickup truck and drive away. 

First responders were on the scene quickly and attempted to render aid, but realized Gina was gone. They found Bryan suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside the Avis office. He was transported to UMC Trauma and underwent emergency surgery which happily saved his life. 

[Shaun] 

Leading up to the shooting Ivan’s last communication with Gina was about Blanche, He told her ‘Hey, Fred’s in my Instagram stories,’ just about an hour before he killed her which makes it seem like Blanche was using social media and Gina’s friends to try and find out where she was and what she was doing.

2 hours before the murder, Blanche called Gina’s brother, Sean, and told him he was going to kill Gina. Sean asked Blanche to come to his house (which he did) so they could talk and he could calm him down. When he was leaving he told Sean that he would just show up at her birthday party. 

Sean tried to reach Gina but he couldn't, and after the murder Blanche texted him “She's gone”.

This whole event is terrifying and heartbreaking. 

[John] 

Shockingly the entire incident was captured on a Las Vegas Metro Fusion Surveillance camera. These were deployed about 6 years ago in an effort to beef up the coverage and policing in Las Vegas without having to have additional officers patrolling the streets.

The Fusion command center is manned by civilian specialists and police officers monitoring the remote cameras 24/7, combatting crime from behind a keyboard.

If you’ve spent any time here in Las Vegas in the downtown area or on the strip you’ve probably seen them. They’re free-standing and look like small trailers with flashing red and blue lights with high-definition cameras and recording equipment.

They can monitor for things like gunfire around the valley and triangulate locations and they have facial recognition technology and license plate readers.

In researching this, we found examples of the success of this program such as an assault taking place on a strip pedestrian bridge where a man cold cocked a woman, knocking her out. Before anyone even called in the assault, police were on their way, and the man was arrested and the victim had her injuries attended to.

They’ve also recovered cars that have been reported stolen and compared faces to their database of mugshots.

The camera behind the Avis picked up Gina’s voice as Blanche pulled his gun on her and Bryan.. She can be heard saying “Fred, Stop, Don't”

The cameras tracked Blanche leaving and were able to track his movements down Sahara and onto the 11 freeway heading toward Arizona.

[Shaun] 

Because they could track him, he was arrested in Buckeye Arizona on August 4th, the very next day, and extradited back to Nevada where he was charged with murder with the use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon.

Blanche’s trial is set for May 19th, 2025, and he is currently being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bail. 

Before we close, we wanted to share some of what we learned about Gina. 

According to her friends, Gina was kind and funny and cared deeply about others. 

Here are some quotes from her friend Ivan. He  told various news outlets that Gina 

• “Loves everybody, she loved life, and she loved her son”.
• “Gina had the most bubbly personality of anybody I ever met”.
• “She was a person who motivated others and listened without judgment”
• “If you knew Gina you loved her. There’s no one aside from the suspect who could say they met Gina and didn't love her”
• He also told them “She didn’t celebrate herself a lot, so this year she was like, ‘I want to celebrate myself. I want to come to Vegas, hang out with my friends and family,’” 

Lastly, we want to share this quote from Gina herself from her Facebook page. You really get a sense of how caring she was reading through her Facebook.

“Most people believe if they "have" a thing (more time, money, love--whatever), then they can finally "do" a thing (write a book, take up a hobby, go on vacation, buy a home, undertake a relationship), which will allow them to "be" a thing (happy, peaceful, content, or in love).

"Having" does not produce "Being"

First you "be" the thing called "happy" (or "knowing" or "wise" or "compassionate" or whatever) then you start "doing" things from this place of being--and soon you discover that what you are doing winds up bringing you the things you've always wanted to "have".

[John] 

Stalking is a huge problem and it should always be taken seriously. 

By no means are we intending to blame the victim Gina here, or anyone in her life or to suggest that anyone in her life did any less than what they could, but we want to remind everyone that there are things that can be done if you or someone you love is being stalked and we wanted to list some of them here

Some immediate safety measures you can consider include 

• Reporting the behavior to Law Enforcement who can provide you with other avenues of protection depending on where you are.
• Obtaining a protective order that can provide a deterrent
• Changing your daily routines to avoid being followed

• Relocating to a new address or a new city
• Creating a personal safety plan

Experts also recommend keeping detailed records of stalking behavior and notifying those in your life of what’s going on such as employers, and neighbors, and even sharing photos of the stalker to increase vigilance.

Experts also recommend having a no-contact policy, and avoiding all interaction with the stalker because even negative attention can encourage further stalking.

 Social media can be a good way to keep in touch with friends and family, but it can be easily weaponized by a stalker. There are some simple things we can all do to keep ourselves safer.

On facebook, go to settings and privacy → privacy checkup where you can change things like

• Who can see what you share which you can limit to friends only. Here I recommend thinking about sharing your personal information only where it’s needed. You can easily set it so only your facebook friends can see your posts, and even limit past posts. 
• How people can find you on Facebook where you can hide your contact information and make sure your profile isnt visible in search engines

You can also visit the privacy center to change preferences for private messaging

Instagram and Facebook both fall under the umbrella of “Meta” so you can edit your Instagram privacy preferences here too. The biggest thing you can do on Instagram is make your account private and remove followers you dont want seeing your posts. Another thing you can do is once you secure your instagram account, you can change your handle slightly making it very difficult for people to locate it. For example, if your instagram is @crimepodfan you could change it to @crimepod(dot)fan. 

You can also control who can tag you in posts which can be very helpful in preventing people from locating your account.

You should also activate two factor authentication and make sure you’re using strong passwords, and make sure that you dont use the same password everywhere.. If someone figures out a password they’ll have access to everything.

For Two Factor Authentication, you can use Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator, both of which have nice backup and restore features for when you change devices.

Most platforms allow you to review what devices are logged into your accounts, so it's a good idea to review those periodically and log out ones you don't recognize.

When you’re posting, be mindful of sharing locations and tagging them in real time. If you do tag a location, do it after you’ve left, like the next day. Also, never share any information about your address daily routines or places you frequent or anything a stalker could use to find you.

It is probably a good idea not to broadcast any future plans you may have either, such as letting people know that you’ll be traveling out of town for work or how you’re looking forward to going to the movies later tonight. 

Also don't be shy about blocking any suspicious accounts. Anyone who exhibits stalking or harassing behavior, just report the account and block it (with the option to block any new accounts if that’s offered to you). Platforms are getting better about offering those protections. 

[Shaun] 

Back in Season 1, we covered some stalking cases, but the one that most often comes to mind is the case of how Dasia Washington was stalked and terrorized by Douglas Jackson. Jackson was an extremely tenacious stalker who Dasia just could not shake despite doing everything possible including moving, changing jobs, altering her routines, and getting protection orders. You can listen to that episode at sinspod.co/episode13

Also, January 18 marks the National Day of Action for Stalking Awareness, honoring Peggy Klinke, who was murdered by her stalker in 2003.

Her sister, Debbie Riddle, an anti-stalking advocate, co-founded this day in Peggy's memory. Debbie has said that “Peggy had a radiant personality that lit up every room. But as the stalking persisted, we saw that light dim.”

The Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center (or SPARC) has asked that on January 18, people wear something sparkly or shiny, take a photo, and share it on social media to help "bring back the sparkle" for Peggy and all those affected by stalking. John and I want to invite all of you to join us in participating in this campaign this year, and please tag us on your photos so we can see them. Also please use the hashtags ​​#SparkleAgainstStalking #NSAM2025 and #NSAMDayofAction.

Last year on January 18, 2024, we released a special bonus episode about Peggy and also about Miley Cyrus, who is just one of many celebrities that has been affected by stalking. You can hear that episode at sinspod.co/episode12. 

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Thank you as always for listening, we appreciate it. As always, we remind you that what happens here, happens everywhere.