Life in prison for man who killed, woman dismembered over life insurance

A New York man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for a scheme that killed and dismembered a woman after he fraudulently took out a life insurance policy in her name to collect benefits, federal prosecutors said.

Cory Martin, 37, was also sentenced by a federal judge in Brooklyn to a 20-year prison term for wire fraud conspiracy and a consecutive two-year prison term for aggravated identity theft.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, whose office prosecuted the case, called it a “heinous, cold-blooded crime” motivated by greed and carried out with extensive planning.

Brandy Odom, 26, was a sex worker that Martin managed and lived with in an apartment in Queens.

“Martin chased Brandy Odom. He saw the victim as a way to make money,” Peace said in a statement. “He trafficked her for commercial sex and then killed her with his bare hands so he could profit from her death.”

Prosecutors said Martin and a co-conspirator fraudulently obtained two life insurance policies in Odom’s name the year before Martin strangled her in her bedroom.

The two bought cleaning supplies and in 2018 dismembered Odom’s body and dumped the parts in a Brooklyn park. They then made several unsuccessful attempts to claim benefits under Odom’s life insurance policies before being apprehended in 2020.

A federal jury found Martin guilty in March after a two-week trial in which prosecutors alleged Martin watched crime shows, including “Dexter” and “The First 48,” for tips on how to get away with the murder.

“The defendant believed he could thwart law enforcement and cover up this heinous crime by relying on television programs about murder, but law enforcement’s investigative efforts brought him to justice,” Peace said Wednesday.

Lawyers for Martin did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.