A Waukesha County jury has found a Glendale woman guilty of killing a longtime New Berlin acquaintance in his home in 2024.
Martha Brown, now 44, could potentially face a life prison term for first-degree intentional homicide when she is sentenced Nov. 20. A presentence investigation will determine whether mitigating factors are in play following the jury’s Aug. 26 verdict that concluded a two-day trial.
Brown maintained Richard Platt’s death was in self-defense after she discovered him in a bathtub with a younger autistic relative, sparking a series of events in which she admitted striking Platt repeatedly with a ceramic angel sculpture in February 2024. Platt, 77, was found deceased in the basement of his home in the 3300 block of Glen Park Court.
According to the criminal complaint, Brown suspected her relative had been sexually assaulted, leading to an angry confrontation. It’s not certain who chased whom into the basement, but the complaint indicated at one point Brown admitted she followed him there.
She admitted to striking Platt eight times on his head and body with the statue, according to the complaint, then fled the home without knowing how badly he had been injured.
The case had an unusual twist.
Brown, who fled to the Cedarburg area, was initially taken into custody as a person of interest by the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities there revealed they received a report that a woman only partially clothed had been seen running through residential yards in the city of Cedarburg on Feb. 12, the day of Platt’s death. Deputies found the woman, later identified as Brown, hiding in a residential garage in the town of Cedarburg.
While being examined at a hospital, she told Ozaukee County authorities about the New Berlin incident, which is what prompted a wellness check by New Berlin police at Platt’s home. She was later charged in Waukesha County.
Brown, who had lived with Platt for about six years until 2020 and had known him for about 14 years overall, told police that she returned almost daily to his home. That’s where Platt helped care for an adult relative of Brown’s who is nonverbal and autistic. (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is not specifying their relationship to protect the relative’s identity.)
The jury, which deliberated for about two hours on Aug. 26 following a full day of testimony the previous day, didn’t accept Brown’s self-defense claim.
She will remain in custody in the Waukesha County Jail until her sentencing hearing by Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Ralph Ramirez.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Martha Brown of Glendale found guilty in 2024 New Berlin homicide