Witness paints grisly
picture in isle taxi
owner slaying

Edward Martin claims that he
helped to plan the brutal murder

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By Debra Barayuga
dbarayuga@starbulletin.com

Accused murderer Keith Murauskas swung a sledgehammer above his head and brought it repeatedly down on the back of the head of Paul Salazar, said a friend who witnessed the slaying.

And when it was apparent Salazar was still alive, Murauskas pulled out a hunting knife and buried it repeatedly into Salazar's neck and upper back, said Edward Wallace Martin, the state's key witness.

After he was done, Murauskas stood up, took a deep breath and said, "Nothing personal," Martin testified yesterday.

Murauskas is on trial for second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder for killing Salazar and attempting to kill his wife, Virginia Salazar, in April 1999. Prosecutors say he was desperate for money.

On April 3, 1999 -- two days before the slaying -- a broke Murauskas had called Martin, whom he met driving taxis, to enlist his help in robbing a bank, Martin testified.

After two days of planning and casing banks and a plan to kill a fellow cabbie fell apart, they decided to kill Salazar instead, he said. Salazar had rented taxis to Martin and previously Murauskas and had bragged to Martin about keeping $30,000 in his safe at home.

Murauskas wanted to kill not just Salazar, but also his wife so no one would be alive to rat on him later, Martin said. Murauskas' plan was to cut up their bodies and dispose of the parts into the ocean. Then he and Martin would burglarize Salazar's Magellan Avenue apartment for cash that he kept in a safe and other valuables.

Martin, who was instructed to sit on Salazar's back as Murauskas attacked the taxicab owner, also admitted to striking Salazar with the sledgehammer because he was afraid for his own life and for his family.

"I didn't want this to happen, but it's happening and I can't stop it," said Martin yesterday as he described the attack on Salazar. "I was very scared."

Blood was flying all over the room, including on Martin. Salazar had let out a "violent scream" after he was first struck, but the sound was muffled by underwear Murauskas had stuffed into the man's mouth before taping his mouth with duct tape.

Martin said he at first thought about refusing when Murauskas instructed him to also hit Salazar, but decided against it.

"I gotta live through this somehow, even if I go jail," he said.

After Martin struck Salazar in the back of the head six to eight times, Murauskas took back the sledgehammer and continued to assault Salazar a second time, Martin said.

Salazar, who was bound at the hands, legs and ankles with more duct tape managed to free one of his hands but was unable to defend himself and died on his bedroom floor.

Not wanting to have anything more to do with any killing or the money he expected to receive for helping Murauskas, Martin said he called police as soon as Murauskas left the apartment with Salazar's safe.

Salazar's wife failed to come home after work, so she escaped harm.

Murauskas faces life without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree attempted murder -- attempting to kill more than one person.

Martin, who agreed to testify against Murauskas in exchange for first-degree attempted murder charges being dropped faces life with parole for second-degree murder.

The defense has accused Martin of shifting blame for the murder to Murauskas so he could save himself and obtain a favorable deal from prosecutors.