Malmberg faces charge in Jozlynn murder

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The man accused in the disappearance of 2-year-old Jozlynn Martinez will be charged Friday with second-degree murder.

Jeffrey Malmberg, 40, the once- live-in boyfriend of the girl's mother -- they have since broken up -- admitted to police he put his knee on the little girl's chest and held her down until she stopped breathing, a Grand Rapids police detective said in court Thursday.

He said it happened at around 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22, at the child's home on 915 Nagold St. NW, Grand Rapids Detective Jana Forner told the judge.

Malmberg admitted to police he then placed Jozlynn in a garbage bag, then disposed of her body in a commercial Dumpster.

Grand Rapids District Judge Jeanine Laville authorized the warrant just before 2 p.m. Thursday.

Malmberg could face up to life in prison on the murder charge. He also will be charged for tampering with evidence -- a 10-year felony, and with larceny for allegedly stealing $2,800 from Jozlynn's mother, Consuela Martinez.

Malmberg had been charged with kidnapping, but that warrant was issued before he told police Jozlynn was dead.

At a 3:30 p.m. news conference, GRPD Chief Kevin Belk said Malmberg will be arraigned Friday, and the search for Jozlynn's body continues.

"I mean, I think ... our whole community has rallied around, hoped and prayed, that first she would be found alive," Belk said. "And we certainly now continue to hope we'll find her body. Obviously, as time goes, that becomes less and less likely. We realize that, but we continue to pursue leads with the hope that somehow, we'd find her."

Belk also said he did not expect any charges to be filed against Martinez.

Earlier Thursday, Jozlynn's parents, Martinez and John Rittenhouse, were told Malmberg would be charged with the toddler's death. Until that time, they held out hope Jozlynn was alive somewhere. Now, they believe she is dead.

Rittenhouse told 24 Hour News 8 this brings some "closure" for he and Consuela. As for Malmberg, Rittenhouse said, "May he rot in hell."

He and Consuela are no longer together. Rittenhouse lives in Arizona.

Jozlynn disappeared Feb. 22, apparently while her mom was away from their home at 915 Nagold St. NW.

Martinez, 21, discovered she was missing the next morning, but thought Jozlynn was with Malmberg, who often spent time with the child.

Grand Rapids police issued an Amber Alert on Wednesday and obtained a kidnapping and theft warrant for Malmberg, who was arrested that evening in Lansing.

Malmberg at first denied involvement in the disappearance, but later told police the girl died Monday evening and that he carried her body to a trash receptacle about two blocks away in the area of Fourth Street and Stocking Avenue NW.

Thursday and Friday, more than 70 Grand Rapids police personnel combed through the Kent County Waste-to-Energy plant on Market Street SW, where the city's garbage is incinerated, but they were unable to find the girl's body.

Malmberg has since told Martinez that Jozlynn died after falling down the stairs, and that he panicked.

The owner of Family Pantry, a nearby store, says police seized surveillance video from his store at Fifth and Stocking.

Several cameras cover the store's parking lot and Dumpster and also parts of the street out front. Police have said they obtained an image of Malmberg, but they wouldn't provide details.