Lompoc murder suspect created fundraiser for “financial crisis” day after victim reported missing

The Lompoc woman accused of murdering her 74-year-old neighbor is set to make her first court appearance Wednesday and we’re slowly learning more about the suspect from a Facebook post.

Lompoc PD Detectives say they’ve been working around the clock trying to tie up loose ends with this investigation, all while being short staffed. Now, posts to social media could be shedding some light on the case.

A departure from her previous 2016 mug shot, Melissa Martin’s smile is gone, now facing a murder charge.

Before her new mugshot was taken, the 35-year-old appears to have created a “Personal Emergency Fundraiser” on Facebook on June 7th – the day after Eldri Jauch was reported missing.

The post said she was raising money to pay for “wrongful imprisonment” after she was taken in on a DUI charge and posted a $2500 dollar bail.

Martin wrote that she was in a “financial crisis” and needed to pay the money back, pay rent, and pay to get her car out of impound. She claims that “they think I stole my own car so I got charged for that.”

The post follows a June 5th arrest log that appeared in the Lompoc Record, indicating a run-in with the law for driving while under the combined influence of drugs and alcohol.

Lompoc Police have not released a possible motive for the killing but we do know that the alleged arrest came a day after Eldri Jauch was last seen at a Lompoc City Council meeting and the posts asking for money comes on the heels of Jauch’s reported disappearance.

Hailed a community activist, Jauch was found dead in Martin’s apartment over the weekend and Martin was arrested on suspicion of killing the 74-year-old late Monday.

Martin’s profile says her occupation is an IHSS in-home care provider.

Martin is scheduled to be in court on Wednesday, we will have a reporter there and will continue to keep you updated.