Newton police arrest murder suspect in New Year’s Eve killing of family member

Newton police have arrested a man accused of killing a family member on New Year’s Eve.

The Newton Police Department said in a news release that Harvey County Communications received a 911 call at around 10:27 p.m. Tuesday reporting a disturbance in the 300 block of SE Fourth Street.

“A female advised she was involved in a physical disturbance with a male subject,” police said in a statement. “A subsequent call from a different witness also advised there was another male down on the ground who was bleeding.

“Officers arrived on scene and found the male victim down on the sidewalk. The officers attempted live saving measures but the male victim was later pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses in the area gave a description of the suspect who was quickly apprehended on foot in the area.”

The Harvey County Now reported that the victim was Robert “Bobby” Flores Sr. and the suspect is Andrew Martinez, 35, who was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder. Flores and Martinez lived in the same house and got in a fight, the Newton Kansas reported, and alcohol is believed to have been involved.

A 35-year-old Andrew Martinez is listed in Kansas Department of Corrections records as under intensive supervision in Harvey and McPherson counties after a pair of convictions for aggravated criminal threat and drug distribution in 2016.

“My father, Robert Samuel Flores Sr (spider) has been brutally murdered by a family member on new years eve,” a GoFundMe online fundraiser states. “He was protecting his home. I (his son) Robert Flores Jr am asking for help. This is to cover funeral costs, fees, and anything inbetween. This is a very tragic incident that has us all greatly upset.”

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

This story was originally published January 1, 2020 at 4:35 PM.