A 33-year-old Citrus County man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of severe child abuse with a two-month-old infant.
Brandon Lee Martalitsch received the sentence after being convicted earlier this year.
According to court records, he is a habitual violent felony offender as well as a reoffender after prison release.
The inquiry began on March 21, 2026, when deputies from the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office visited HCA Citrus Hospital in Inverness. Staff were treating a two-month-old baby with a shattered right ankle. Martalitsch, who brought the baby to the facility, told deputies that he unintentionally landed on the kid while jumping onto a bed.
While medical personnel recognized that the ankle fracture could have occurred in the manner Martalitsch stated, further tests indicated further trauma. A thorough skeletal examination revealed many fractures throughout the infant’s body, each in varying stages of healing. Medical personnel assessed that these injuries did not result from normal handling and pointed directly to continued maltreatment.
Detective Michael Mission of the Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit took over the investigation, checking medical data and speaking with hospital personnel. During the investigation, the baby’s mother verified that Martalitsch was the sole caregiver for the infant on the day they went to the hospital.
She informed detectives that Martalitsch video-called her to indicate he had harmed the infant. When she went home, she noticed the infant’s leg was swelled and bruised, so they sought medical attention right away.
Deputies arrested Martalitsch on March 31, 2025, after determining probable cause based on medical data and witness accounts.
“This young infant was entrusted to the defendant’s care and protection, but he instead committed horrific abuse,” stated Bill Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney. “Today’s life sentence holds the defendant accountable and ensures that this vulnerable child, or any other child, will never again be placed in harm’s way by this defendant.”
Assistant State Attorneys Kaitlyn Mannis and Kevin Davis prosecuted the case.
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