Judge sentences Napa man to 27 years to life for trying to kill wife

A Napa man convicted of trying to kill his wife received a sentence Thursday of 27 years to life in prison.

Michael Daniel Martin, 41, was convicted Oct. 4 of deliberate and premeditated attempted murder following a 12-day jury trial.

The convictions stem from a violent attack on his wife on Dec. 19, 2019, according to a news release Friday from the office of Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley.

Prosecutors said that was the night Martin drove his wife up Mount Veeder Road in the Napa hills and assaulted her. When she escaped the vehicle, he used it to hit her, causing both her and the car to fly off the roadway and 60 feet down a steep embankment.

The victim suffered serious injuries, including multiple major broken bones. After Martin left the scene, the victim pulled herself to the car to shelter from the rain and cold, and she spent the night inside the car where she was found the next morning by drivers on their way to work.

The ensuing investigation found technological evidence from the vehicle and mobile phone records — as well as medical evidence — to corroborate the victim’s account at trial.

The case was prosecuted by Napa County Deputy District Attorney Nicole Noonan-Miller, who called the victim a true survivor.

Noonan-Miller said:

“She survived years of abuse at the hands of the defendant, a man she loved and someone she had hoped would protect her. … She survived a terrifying night and a horrific series of violent acts, during which she was sure she would die. And she survived a lengthy wait for the case to go to trial before she could find closure and move forward with a new chapter in her life. I am grateful for this survivor’s courage in telling her story, and the jury that honored her courage with their verdict.”

Martin was also found guilty of one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, one count of corporal injury to a spouse and one count of criminal threat.