Boy identified whose body was found in north Harris County pond

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A 14-year-old boy who was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2017 has been found dead in a northwest Harris County pond.  

“You’re not supposed to bury your kids," says Gladys Martinez through tears and suffering "They’re supposed to bury you,” Her pain comes from the kind of heartbreak that only a parent who has lost a child can fully understand. 

“He was only 14,” utters Martinez with tears in her eyes.

Martinez had been hopeful that her son, Justin Gonzalez, would come back home, but on Feb. 1, the body of a teen boy was found in the pond near Ella Boulevard. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Science has confirmed that the teen whose body was found in the water is Gonzalez.  

“He had God in his heart," adds Martinez. "He would always say, 'Mom, I’m going to be famous one day. You’re going to go to my concert mom. I’m going to buy you your first house.' He would always say, 'Mom, I want to rap about God.'”   

Martinez believes it was her son’s dream of making music that led him to run away from home and ultimately led to his death.

"Minutes before he ran away, he posted he was going to move out with this Lily person,” explains Martinez. The grieving mother says she found a picture of Lily on social media and it’s an adult woman. She also found a post of her son saying his album is coming out in two days.

"I think the people made him believe he was going to be famous,” adds Martinez.

Instead, Justin Gonzalez’s name and photo made it on television in a tragic manner, very different from the way he once dreamed.

"If I knew that was in his mind, I would have hugged him and tell him I love him.”  

Funeral arrangements are pending for the freshman from Westfield High School.

"And I want justice," says Martinez. The mother in mourning also wants answers, little of which there are so far. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Science still has not determined the teen’s cause of death.