A day before he was set to leave for Navy boot camp, 20-year-old Andrew Martinez died of alcohol poisoning, leaving his mother searching for answers and justice.

“He unfortunately died of alcohol poisoning of a BAC of 0.65,” Megan Halliwell says of her son, who passed away on Sept. 7, 2024.

She noted he had been selected for a cyber security position in the Navy, a role she said that goes to only 1 in 600 applicants.

Mother Recalls That Morning

Halliwell said she received a phone call at 10:45 a.m. that Saturday telling her to go to her ex-husband’s house, not realizing that her son had died.

The Visalia mom recalled heading into the house, where she was met by two police officers in the hallway. Her ex-husband and his wife appeared, repeatedly saying, “We only gave him two drinks.” Halliwell said she did not yet know her son was dead but had a sinking feeling that the worst had happened.

After realized the depth of the tragedy, she screamed, “What were you thinking? He wasn’t old enough to drink.”

Halliwell said that two drinks couldn’t begin to account for a BAC of 0.65. GV Wire confirmed the BAC through the coroner’s record.

“There was no aspiration, there was no vomit. It was so much alcohol in such a short period of time, his system literally just shut down,” she said. “I mean, for me just listening to this, it’s obvious that there was a crime broken – giving alcohol to a minor is breaking the law.”

She told GV Wire that the BAC test was taken five days post-mortem.

“Them claiming that they gave him two drinks, but his BAC five days post-mortem was 8.5 times the legal driving limit … the math is not there to say that he only had two drinks.” she said.

Halliwell described Andrew as a gamer, about five foot six or seven and 136 pounds. Using an online calculator from Alcohol.org, she said, “that would be near 17 shots of a 1.5 ounce liquor.”

Tulare County DA Declines Charges

The Visalia Police Department filed charges with the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office against the father originally, but prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to prosecute. The potential crime would have involved pursuing her ex-husband for manslaughter.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Daniel Underwood said the case was reviewed by several senior homicide attorneys, who determined there was insufficient evidence to prove criminal negligence.

Witnesses told investigators Andrew had “a couple drinks” and did not appear intoxicated when others went to bed around 2 a.m., Underwood said. Investigators do not know what occurred between that time and when Andrew was found dead, making it tough for prosecutors to meet the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Providing alcohol to someone under 21 is a misdemeanor, but prosecutors declined to pursue that charge, saying it was not in the interest of justice.

Underwood said the office would reconsider the case if new evidence emerges.

Turning Grief Into Advocacy

“He was my first born. I’ve had eight miscarriages … that child was my whole world. I had two other kids after him, but there’s a ten-year gap because I kept losing children. My kids are my everything, and it literally feels like since he passed, a piece of me is dead … and it doesn’t go away,” Halliwell said.

Halliwell has a registered nonprofit, Andrew’s Voice. She said her goal is to be a voice for the voiceless and help families with their cases in Tulare County.

To learn more, visit the Andrew’s Voice Facebook page here. The email address is Andrewsvoice.65@gmail.com.

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