New York man sentenced to life in prison for killing and dismembering woman as part of a life insurance scam

NEW YORK – A New York man was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for killing and dismembering a woman after fraudulently purchasing life insurance in her name to collect benefits, federal prosecutors said.

Cory Martin, 37, was also sentenced by a federal judge in Brooklyn to a concurrent 20-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and a consecutive two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, whose office prosecuted the case, called it a “horrible, cold-blooded crime” motivated by greed and carried out with extensive planning.

Brandy Odom, 26, was a sex worker that Martin managed and lived with in an apartment in Queens.

“Martin took advantage of Brandy Odom. “He saw the sacrifice as an opportunity to make money,” Peace said in a statement. “He trafficked her for commercial sex and then killed her with his bare hands so he could profit from her death.”

Prosecutors said Martin and a co-conspirator fraudulently took out two life insurance policies in Odom's name a year before Martin strangled her in her bedroom.

The two bought cleaning supplies, dismembered Odom's body in 2018 and dumped the parts in a Brooklyn park. They then made several unsuccessful attempts to collect benefits from Odom's life insurance policies before being arrested in 2020.

A federal jury found Martin guilty in March after a two-week trial in which prosecutors alleged Martin watched crime shows like “Dexter” and “The First 48” to get tips on how to get away with murder.

“The defendant believed he could thwart prosecution and cover up this heinous crime by relying on television shows about murders, but law enforcement's investigative efforts brought him to justice,” Peace said Wednesday.

Martin's lawyers did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.