Jurors convict man in fatal stabbing on an ABQ bus

A jury on Thursday found Charles Madrid, 20, guilty of voluntary manslaughter for fatally stabbing a man last year during a chaotic confrontation aboard a city of Albuquerque bus.

Jurors, however, rejected the more serious charge of second-degree murder that Madrid faced in the Feb. 13, 2025, killing of 44-year-old Adrian Marthell.

Security video viewed by jurors showed Madrid attempting to quell a scuffle among other passengers, telling them to "calm down" and "stop acting like children" in the moments before he fatally stabbed Marthell in the neck.

The verdict came on the fourth day of Madrid's trial in 2nd Judicial District Court before Judge Joseph Montano. Madrid faces a sentencing range of zero to six years in prison. His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

Madrid was enrolled in his senior year at the Mark Armijo Academy Charter School at the time and was riding the bus to school that morning, his lawyer, Sara Fossum, said after the verdict.

Madrid, then 19, and his mother didn't have a permanent address and were living in a variety of shelters at the time, she said.

"We are hoping with whatever happens with the outcome that at least he will have an opportunity to move on, to graduate, to live his life," Fossum said. "He feels terrible regarding what happened with Mr. Marthell."

Madrid's attorneys argued that he acted in self-defense after attempting to calm a dispute between other men on the bus and that he had no intention to hurt Marthell.

Prosecutor Guinevere Ice described Madrid as the aggressor who yelled at other passengers before pulling a knife and stabbing Marthell in the neck. Madrid then ran from the bus as Marthell crumpled to the floor and died at the scene, she said.

Much of the prosecution's case relied on security video from inside the bus.

The video showed that Marthell boarded the westbound city bus at Central and San Mateo at 8:06 a.m. Feb. 13, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. At 8:15 a.m., Madrid boarded at the Nob Hill Albuquerque Rapid Transit stop.

At 8:44 a.m., a scuffle broke out between Marthell and two unidentified riders as Madrid sat close by, the complaint said. Madrid stood and approached the three men, who then sat down. Madrid and Marthell exchanged words before Marthell stood, and Madrid thrust his hand at the man's neck.

Albuquerque police responded at 8:50 a.m. to a report of a stabbing at Central and Coors NW, where the bus driver pulled over and found Marthell dead inside the bus.

Madrid's other attorney, Neal Brubaker, told jurors in opening statements Monday that Madrid acted in self-defense while trying to break up a fight among several riders on the ABQ Ride bus.

Madrid became upset after Marthell struck a man sitting across from him, prompting Madrid to intervene, Brubaker told jurors. Madrid made a "bluff lunge" at Marthell with the intention of intimidating the older man but had no intention of hurting him, Brubaker said.