Man accused of killing woman behind rental car shop held without bail
The man accused of killing a woman in a shooting behind a rental car office and trying to kill a man who was with her is still being held without bail after he appeared in court Wednesday.
Frederick Blanche, 37, faces open murder and attempted murder charges in connection with the Aug. 3 killing of Gina Martin and the shooting of Brian Marshall.
The shooting occurred behind the Avis rental car office at 4632 W. Sahara Ave.
Blanche was arrested on Aug. 4 in Buckeye, Arizona.
On Wednesday, defense attorney Tony Abbatangelo was appointed to represent Blanche.
Abbatangelo said he was not prepared to argue for bail and would try to visit Blanche on Thursday.
Abbatangelo said after the hearing that he plans to argue for bail in the future.
Blanche’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.
Friends and family of Martin previously told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Blanche was obsessed with Martin and had a toxic relationship with her.
“Fred’s threatened to kill her I don’t know how many times,” said Marla Moore, who described Martin as her best friend.
Martin’s brother, Sean Martin, said, “He had stronger feelings for my sister than she did for him.”
Martin said Blanche texted after the shooting: “She’s gone.”
He replied, “Gone where???,” not understanding.
He also said his sister was dating Marshall.
A Metropolitan Police Department report described surveillance video in which police alleged Blanche repeatedly shot at both victims, including while he stood over Martin.
“Gina could be heard screaming, but as more shots were fired, the screaming stopped,” the report said.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.