that they may have been to blame for the death of a 4-year-old child.
The couple – the child’s mother and her boyfriend – initially told
officers that the girl had suffered serious injuries when she fell at
a pool at a residential apartment complex. Physicians determined, however,
that the girl may have been the victim of a
violent crime.
Now, the adults are facing murder charges, and their trial opened on July
7. The victim reportedly died in May 2011. The mother’s boyfriend
told investigators that the child had fallen while trying to enter a pool
at an apartment complex. He had taken the girl and her three siblings
to the pool at La Mesa Village apartments on the day of the victim’s death.
However, prosecutors say that surveillance footage proves that the pool
was actually closed for maintenance on the day of the girl’s death.
That fact, among others, led to the couple being implicated in the death
of the child. The victim reportedly suffered broken ribs, bruises, skull
fractures and a lacerated liver because of the alleged violent crimes.
Further, one of the girl’s siblings told investigators that she
saw the man strike the girl, step on her and slam her into a wall during
an altercation.
Although these violent crime allegations are disturbing, the defendants
are not automatically considered guilty simply because they were charged.
These defendants also chose to pursue a criminal trial instead of entering
a guilty plea. Although this course of action is appropriate in some criminal
cases, it is important to take the time to weigh options before deciding
to take a case to trial in front of a jury.
Source: The Arizona Republic, “Mesa man accused in deadly child beating stands trial“, Catherine Calderon, July 8, 2014
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