Report: Brother says body found in Renton is Leticia Martinez-Cosman

Update 4/14 10:10 a.m.:

A body found April 11 in Renton has been identified as Leticia Martinez-Cosman — who had disappeared after a Mariners game on March 31 — according to the woman’s brother, who confirmed with KIRO 7.

Original Story:

The investigation into a missing woman last seen at a Seattle Mariners game has resulted in the recovery of an unidentified body in Renton, according to Seattle Police.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to confirm the identity of the deceased and the cause and manner of death.

Suspect in woman’s disappearance from Mariners game later allegedly attacked her son

Leticia Martinez-Cosman, 58, was last seen at a Mariners game at T-Mobile Park March 31 with Brett Gitchel, 46. She was reported missing by a family member on April 2.

Gitchel was arrested for allegedly trying to kill Patrick Cosman, Leticia’s son, around April 2. The King County Prosecutor’s Office stated Gitchel’s cell records — using cell tower data to triangulate the location and position of a phone’s location — identified that Gitchel’s cell phone activity is consistent with him being at Martinez-Cosman’s home at 2 a.m. April 2, the time her son Patrick was kidnapped.

In an interview with detectives, Patrick recounted being awoken by the sound of a man knocking on his bedroom door on April 2. He was not able to articulate who the man was but described his attacker as being in his 30s or 40s with facial hair and glasses.

The man told him that his mother had been in an accident and that he was going to take him to see her at the hospital. Patrick got into a car with him and “drove around for what seemed like hours.”

The son told detectives that the man then got into the seat in the car behind him and tried to “kill him by smothering or strangling him.” The son said he was able to fight the man off, even managing to bite his hand.

Human remains found as investigators search for missing King County woman

The son then reportedly escaped from the car and called 911, before going into a neighboring yard and hiding in the bushes.

When Gitchel was brought in by police, he had “numerous visible injuries on his body, including many cuts and scrapes on his hands,” as well as bruises on his face, arms, and body, according to an interview with police two days later.

Gitchel has since been charged with first-degree kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm, first-degree theft, and second-degree arson. The arson charge is related to Seattle firefighters discovering a vehicle “fully engulfed” in flames less than two miles from T-Mobile Park on April 2. The vehicle, a 2016 Honda CRV, was identified as belonging to Martinez-Cosman and was determined to have been torched using an accelerant.

Man charged with first-degree attempted murder of missing woman’s son

“Within a three day period, Brett Gitchel was the last person to be seen with Leticia Martinez-Cosman. Brett Gitchel would drive Leticia’s vehicle to a remote area outside Seattle for a short period of time the next day, kidnap and attempt to kill her son and burn Leticia’s vehicle,” court documents said.

Prosecutors said Gitchel was pinged through cell phone records at 3400 Talbot Rd S in Renton, around the same time and location the son was choked.

DEVELOPING: Homicide detectives found a body in Renton they say is linked to disappearance of Leticia Martinez-Cosman.

She was last seen March 31 at a Mariner’s game with Brett Gitchel, who’s been charged with attempted murder of her son.

No word on whose body or how they died.

— Sam Campbell (@HeySamCampbell) April 12, 2023

KIRO Newsradio’s Sam Campbell reported that the location is less than a mile from where the unidentified body was found.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.