[Music] we are learning new information about how an MS13 gang member who was the primary suspect in a murder was able to enroll and attend a Maryland public school as project Baltimore's Chris paps explains the mother of the victim is largely blaming Maryland child protective services without objection the chair is authorized to clear a recess at any time we welcome everyone to today's hearing why did you come here today to make sure that what happened to Kayla doesn't happen to anyone else's family I want people to see her as a living person with hopes and dreams Tammy nobl is on a mission to affect change Miss Nobles you recognize for five minutes good morning to the members of the committee thank you for allowing me to speak on Tuesday Nobles testified before the US House Judiciary Committee in Washington DC about her daughter Kayla Hamilton's murder murder in July of 2022 the 20-year-old was killed by Walter Martinez who strangled her with a phone cord he was also charged but not convicted of first-degree rape in August he was sentenced to 70 years in jail for murder after she was deceased Martinez tied her up and sexually assaulted her this is not a political issue this is a safety issue for everyone here living in the United States a mother is issuing a powerful warning to and parents nobles's testimony centered on a recent project Baltimore investigation which found Martinez an MS13 gang member illegally in the country was allowed to enroll and attend a Maryland public school after police had identified him as the primary murder suspect this was also confirmed by an investigated reporter with Fox 45 project Baltimore who got an actual confirmation from Edgewood High School during her Congressional testimony Nobles revealed additional details about how Martinez was able to enroll at Edwood high school she explained under oath that she believes much of the fault lies with Harford County Child Protective Services which took custody of Martinez as Aberdine police investigated Kayla's murder the Aberdine Police Department asked CPS to put him in a secure location they agreed to put him in a secure location CPS did not let the Aberdine Police Department know that they moved him from the group home to a foster home and enrolled him in high school that is a powerful statement what Nobles is saying is that CPS knew Martinez was dangerous and still enrolled him in a public school so project Baltimore reached out to the Department of Human Services which oversees CPS they declined an interview but said in a statement we are unable to disclose information about child welfare cases the Department of Human Services uses all information provided and known to us to determine the most appropriate placement setting for any child under our care and Supervision in reading this statement it appears that DHS is saying the most appropriate placement for Martinez an MS-13 gang member and murder suspect was Edgewood High School they put other children in risk they put adults at risk everyone that was in that school was a risk to end up just like Kaya Hamilton Nobles is now calling for Maryland and the entire country to change laws concerning students safety he should not have been with in society at all he should have been in a secure location where he had access to Virtual schools Nobles believes if a school AG person has been identified as a suspect in a felony law enforcement should have the ability to prohibit that suspect from attending school in person until the investigation is complete or if that person does attend class the school should be made aware of the alleged felony crimes on Wednesday project Baltimore sent an email to all 188 State lawmakers in Annapolis asking if they would support one or both of these proposed changes in law we also asked why according to Nobles it always seems to take a tragedy before action is taken to protect public school students and we asked if lawmakers believe Anapolis prioritizes protecting juvenile offenders over students in school just because Kayla received Justice doesn't mean this stops with Kayla I am going to continue sharing her story continue fighting for changes at the federal and state level so I could help you save other children's lives coming up on Monday we will share with you the responses we receive from your lawmakers in Annapolis we will also post them on our website Fox baltimore.com I'm Chris papst and this is Project Baltimore I'm Chris papst thanks for watching here's another story to watch also if you have a story idea please send us a message