× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

The Flagstaff Police Department arrested three people for first-degree murder on Monday after a 6-year-old child was found dead in his bedroom closet.

Anthony Martinez, 23, Ann Marie Martinez, 50, and Elizabeth Archibeque, 26, were all arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse. Anthony Martinez was also charged with resisting arrest. Authorities said the child did not appear his age, suggesting he had been malnourished.

The parents told police investigators their children had been kept in a small closet for about a month.

“Medical personnel arrived and were not able to resuscitate the child, who was pronounced deceased on scene,” said Charles Hernandez, spokesman of the Flagstaff Police Department.

The child was found at the 3108 N. Monte Vista Drive on the east side of Flagstaff on Monday at 12:39 p.m. Flagstaff police said there were no obvious signs of trauma on the victim.

However, the children’s parents, Anthony Martinez and Elizabeth Archibeque, admitted to locking the boy and his 7-year-old brother in the small bedroom closet and denying them food.