Deepra Sarkar
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Web of Lies’ explores one of the most harrowing cases of crimes committed because of online connections. ‘The Devil’s Pact’ showcases the murder of Chelsea Martinez, who was killed by an acquaintance she had met online. The case delves deep into the dark side of the internet and how it can often give rise to heinous crimes like this. We were intrigued by the case and conducted a little research into it. Here is all we found out.
Who Killed Chelsea Martinez?
Chelsea was a wife to her high school sweetheart Oscar and the mother to her three children. In the ‘Web of Lies’ episode, her mother said that Chelsea had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a very young age. She was subject to frequent mood swings and temperament changes. Later on, Chelsea reportedly suffered from depression and had started having suicidal thoughts.
It seems as though the degradation of Chelsey’s mental health was the consequence of the financial pressure the family was experiencing after Oscar lost his job and the Martinez couple had their third child. Chelsea had taken to the internet to talk about her life and her ordeals. Soon she came across a site called Experience Project. The website, which was a platform for people with extraordinary curiosities and experiences, attracted Chelsea. She indulged in it as a way to escape the reality of life.
Soon she started talking to another member on the social networking site with the user name “DarkRyd3r”. Chelsea had a habit of taking sudden road trips when she experienced an episode. She would drive out from her Briggs Road home to as far as Las Vegas and California. Chelsea’s husband said that she would always be back in a week. However, when Chelsea left home in July 2015, she apparently had no plans to return. She drove up to Minnesota from Columbus, Ohio, to meet up with Jason Nisbit, the man behind the user name “DarkRyd3r” on Experience Project.
According to Nisbit, Chelsea told him that she wanted him to kill her. Nisbit additionally said that she had specified the way she wanted to be killed. On August 3, days after Chelsea’s family had reported her missing, a Rice County Sheriff’s Deputy came across an abandoned vehicle at Shagger Park on Cannon Lake. While inspecting the car, the officer ran the car plate and found that the 1993 Toyota vehicle was registered under Chelsea’s name. Despite scouring the area around the vehicle, the investigators were unable to find Chelsea.
Officials said that Chelsea’s family provided them the necessary information that led them to Jason Nisbit. Nisbit then took the officers to Chelsea Martinez’s body. She was discovered in an area across the park where her car had been found. Chelsea had been tied up, strangled, and then her throat had been slit with a knife. Jason Nisbit had already confessed to the murder before leading the officers to the body.
Where Is Jason Nisbit Now?
On August 1, 2015, Chelsea and Nisbit drove separately to Shager Park and walked for a while to a wooded area where Nisbit killed Chelsea. Nisbit was formally charged with second-degree murder. According to Gina, Nisbit’s wife, there was more to the case and Jason’s actions than met the eye. She believed that Jason was “not the monster” the authorities were making him out to be. Even though she did not deny the role her husband had had in Chelsea’s death, she did not label him as a murderer.
In her statements, she said that Jason had apparently tried to talk Chelsea out of taking her life, but Chelsey reportedly had everything planned, even the manner in which she wanted Jason to kill her. In the messages exchanged between her and Jason, Chelsea had told him that she couldn’t wait to die and thanked Nisbit because of whom she would finally be at peace. After Nisbit had killed Chelsea, he dragged her body to a culvert and covered her partially with dirt. Nisbit pleaded guilty in connection with the murder and was sentenced to 42 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated at MCF Oak Park Heights.
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