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Thread: Mauricio Alejandro Torres - Arkansas

  1. #71
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    Mauricio Torres’ third capital murder trial begins with opening statements, prosecution witnesses

    By C.C. McCandless
    KNWA News

    Warning: Some details of this case are graphic in nature and may be uncomfortable for some readers. Discretion is advised.

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The third capital murder trial for Mauricio Torres began with opening statements in Benton County circuit court on the morning of February 9.

    Torres has already been convicted twice for the abuse and killing of his six-year-old son, Isaiah Torres, during a weekend camping trip in 2015. The first was overturned on a sentencing technicality, and the second was declared a mistrial when Torres' stepson jumped out of the witness stand and attempted to attack him during sentencing.

    Judge Brad Karren began the proceedings in his courtroom shortly after 8:30 a.m. by noting that one juror had been excused and replaced with an alternate. The selection of the jury panel concluded on February 8.

    The jury was then sworn in and prosecutor Nathan Smith began his opening statement at approximately 8:42 a.m.

    “This is the tragic story of Isaiah Torres,” he began, before walking the jury through a painstaking timeline chronicling the events that led to that six-year-old boy’s killing in March, 2015. He stated that the child’s death was a direct result of the “abuse, torture and murder that was inflicted on him” by his father, the defendant, Mauricio Torres.

    “These things are difficult to comprehend and even harder to accept. They are ugly and they are grotesque.”

    State of Arkansas vs. Mauricio Torres, Nathan Smith’s opening statement, February 9

    Regarding the fateful family camping trip in 2015, Smith noted that it was how “Isiah’s long history of abuse reached its end.” The defendant stirred uncomfortably in his seat across the courtroom as the prosecutor described that day in detail.

    Smith’s opening included a graphic and gruesome description of the act of sodomy that Torres allegedly performed on his son with a stick, and how this perforated the child’s rectum, leading to infection, sepsis and death. He also explained that the defendant’s wife, Cathy Torres, has already pleaded guilty to her own charges.

    “The evidence will show you that Cathy was not Isaiah’s primary abuser,” he told the jury. Torres shook his head as he listened to this description of the events.

    The prosecutor continued by stating that the state would call two teachers as witnesses–two women that made reports about the signs of abuse and changes in behavior they witnessed in the boy in the days leading up to his death.

    “No help ever came for Isaiah,” Smith added. He explained to the jury that they would listen to a 911 call from Cathy Torres and hear testimony from an EMT, an emergency room doctor and members of law enforcement that investigated the case and interviewed the defendant.

    He said that a medical examiner would also confirm “significant evidence of abuse” and would note primary and contributing causes of death: “a rough object” that punctured his rectum, and “chronic child abuse” that “lead inevitably to a homicidal act,” respectively.

    Smith went on to state that Torres ultimately admitted his guilt in post-arrest interviews, including confessing to using a stick on his son. The prosecution also voiced its intent to call the victim’s twin sister, now 15 years old, to the stand.

    As he did during voir dire, Smith also warned the jury about graphic photographs that would be admitted into evidence.

    “It’s hard to look at, but it’s the reality,” he told the jurors. “It’s the reality of his life and death.” The state’s thorough opening statement concluded at approximately 9:00 a.m.

    Moment later, defense attorney Bill James began his opening statement by offering a brief suggestion to the jurors.

    “Deep breath,” he implored. “It’s over.”

    He went on to remind the panel that they must not let their emotions take over during the trial. He added that the defendant wasn’t certain at the time that anything he did would kill his son.

    James then said that Cathy Torres’ conduct was what caused the boy’s death. Regarding the defendant’s confession, James explained that his client “thought it was a smart move under the circumstances.” He also acknowledged that English is the defendant’s second language and that he can become flustered and speak quickly and less clearly at times.

    He described Mauricio Torres as a man that came to this country searching for respect, and that he viewed his wife as a pathway to achieving that. The defendant looked away and became emotional as his attorney described his client’s life to this point.

    “Is Mauricio Torres responsible for a capital murder?” he then asked. He compared Isaiah’s fatal injury to a stomach ache and told the jury that they needed to “compartmentalize this evidence.” He added that any prior abuse the child suffered did not cause his death, but that sepsis did.

    “She plead guilty to save herself,” James told the jury. He then offered a series of graphics to the jury, making no attempt to deny that Isaiah Torres was abused and died of sepsis.

    His statement then pivoted back to Cathy Torres as he described her as “controlling” of both her husband and their children. He explained that the defendant “worked long hours” and was “rarely home.”

    On the day of Isaiah Torres’ murder, James said the family’s Saturday “started out with a fun walk and volunteering,” followed by the trip to Missouri in the family’s camper RV.

    “Mauricio didn’t know Isaiah had been injured,” he said. “He thought he had a stomach ache. Everybody did.”

    The defense attorney added that “attempts were made to save Isaiah,” and he noted that the defendant said to call 911, gave the boy vitamins, and instructed him to shower that night.

    “Mauricio did not know why Isaiah died,” James stated. He also said his client didn’t understand why he was ever accused of rape in the case. James also told the jury that there were “changing stories” about what happened after the boy’s death.

    “Keep your eye on the bouncing ball,” he suggested. “Whatever he’s guilty of, battery aside, it’s not capital murder,” he said in conclusion.

    The state’s first witness was called just after 9:30 a.m.

    The prosecution began by calling a pair of witnesses that were both Isaiah’s teachers during the year he was killed. Perry Heffernan and Hannah Paul offered similar testimony, as each described Isaiah’s bruises and cuts that they saw at school, followed thereafter by negative changes in his behavior, including stealing and sneaking food during Kindergarten class.

    Heffernan described the boy as initially “excited to learn” before he “started getting more combative” later in the year.

    “His demeanor changed,” she told the jury. She also detailed the signs of abuse that she saw and said that the injuries “seemed like they were never healing.” Four photos that she took to document the abuse were admitted into evidence.

    Hannah Paul now lives abroad and appeared via live video. She said that when she first taught Isaiah, he was a “normal, happy kid.”

    “As the year progressed he definitely became a different person,” she explained. She detailed mood changes, Isaiah’s emotional withdrawal and lack of participation and his tendency to steal and hide food. She also described physical signs of abuse.

    Paul also took pictures of his injuries and described an encounter when Isaiah was extremely emotional and sought her out for attention.

    “I was very concerned about abuse happening in the home,” she said after describing a “huge bruise” she discovered on Isaiah’s back.

    The defense’s cross-examination of the pair of witnesses focused on trying to find any inconsistencies in their testimony today compared to during the previous trials. For example, today one of the witnesses mentioned Isaiah eating in the rest room, but she had not done so earlier. They were also questioned about whether other students stole lunches at school as well.

    The morning’s third witness, a former Bella Vista dispatcher, was accompanied by a recording of Cathy Torres’ 911 call. The jury heard the boy’s mother describing how her son wasn’t breathing. She added that he previously said his stomach was hurting him.

    The jury listened as the dispatcher and a paramedic walked her through the CPR process over the phone as other emergency personnel were en route to assist.

    “Wake up, buddy,” Cathy Torres said. She could also be heard referring to her son by name in efforts to get him to begin breathing as she gave him chest compressions.

    As the recording played, Mauricio Torres began to cry at the defense table. He opened and closed his right hand into a fist as the jury listened to the call.

    Next to take the stand was a Bella Vista paramedic that responded to the 911 call. Captain John Cottingham has served in the medical field for 23 years, with 16 of those spent as a paramedic.

    He testified that he was the second responder on the scene and he assisted a firefighter that arrived first. He also brought in equipment including a heart monitor and a defibrillator.

    He noted that Isaiah was jaundiced and had “various wounds” including bruises and a black eye. He was succinct in describing his interaction with the defendant.

    “I didn’t get much from him,” said Cottingham. The paramedic felt that the scene was “suspicious,” so he reported it to police. He then accompanied an ambulance to a nearby emergency room.

    The prosecution introduced four photos of the victim into evidence during Cottingham’s testimony, including shots of the child with a ventilator in a hospital bed and with a defibrillator on his back. Mauricio Torres turned away, refusing to look at these.

    A brief cross-examination revealed that it was a total of 36 minutes from the 911 call to Isaiah’s arrival at the ER. The defense also noted that there was no blood evident on the hospital bed’s sheets.

    Proceeding in a linear fashion, Nathan Smith next called an emergency room physician to testify. Dr. Franklin Mayhew told the jury that he has been an ER doctor since 1985, and he was working at the Bella Vista’s “freestanding ER” with limited departments when the victim arrived there in 2015.

    He immediately noted that a case of cardiac arrest in a child is unusual, and he explained that it is difficult for a child of that age to have his heart stop, while it was usually easy to get it started again.

    “Something was terribly not normal,” he said. He added that he worked on the boy for less than 30 minutes before signs indicated that his heart wasn’t going to start again.

    Later, a nurse checking Isaiah’s core temperature detected blood in his rectum, which the doctor said was “not normal.”

    Mayhew was tasked with telling Mauricio and Cathy Torres that their child had died, and he described them as “remarkably without emotion” when they were informed. Conversely, he said that the boy’s sisters were “crying their eyes out.”

    Another brief cross-exam had the doctor state that at the time, Isaiah’s death was attributed to “unexplained circumstances.” Mayhew added that he didn’t know at the time that sepsis was the cause of death.

    Judge Karren called for a lunch recess just before noon. The jury was instructed to return at 1:30 p.m., and afternoon testimony began with a new prosecution witness at 1:39 p.m.

    Detective Ed Williams was next. His law enforcement career began in Oklahoma in 1996 and he moved to Bella Vista in 1999. He was a detective there on this case in 2015.

    Williams was called to the ER and more photos from that scene were admitted into evidence, including close-up shots of a rectal thermometer with a “red substance” on it inside a hospital trash can. The detective later interviewed Torres, who waived his Miranda rights.

    The jury watched extensive video of that interview, which was a wide-ranging affair over two hours in length, in addition to certain segments being skipped due to a lack of evidentiary value. The jurors were also provided with a transcript of the interview to serve as demonstrative assistance, but that wasn’t actually admitted into evidence.

    Torres’ demeanor varied noticeably during the interview. He began by noting that his son was simply suffering from a stomach ache. The defendant looked away from the video in the courtroom, staring at the ceiling as the jurors watched him describe Isaiah’s death as his “worst nightmare.”

    “I feel like I failed,” Torres said on the video. His mood became more defensive when questioned about the assorted injuries present on his son’s body, and he offered up quick explanations for several of them, including a fall, an incident when the boy was sick, and sores that he “picked at.”

    “Did you ask my wife about this?” he countered. The detective confirmed that they had.

    “Don’t you think that’s a lot of injuries for a little boy that’s six?” Williams asked.

    Torres eventually ran out of answers and explanations for the indicators of abuse.

    “I do the best that I can for them,” he stated. He also explained that he underwent weight loss surgery because of his children. “I want to live to see them grow up,” he said.

    The judge ordered a brief recess after the jury had watched the video for about an hour. When the jurors returned, they agreed to proceed past 5 p.m. if necessary.

    In the second half of the video, Torres detailed how he had always done what his wife wanted, though he later admitted to occasionally verbally abusing her.

    “I said some things,” he noted.

    He then began to harp on his wish that he had called 911 sooner, often repeating his belief that his son simply had a stomach ache. The detective was not convinced by this.

    “Someone abused this child,” he said on the video. “And I’m going to find out. I just want the truth.”

    Torres then began to offer new possible reasons for some of the various scratches and wounds on his son’s body, including the family’s cat and dog. When asked about physical punishment, he admitted to spanking his children with his hand, but denied doing more than that.

    He then noted that Isaiah was polite, sweet and gentle.

    “He’s like me,” the defendant added.

    The interview moved on to discussing the possibility of Cathy Torres cutting a deal, with Mauricio noting that he thought law enforcement was “a business” that is also “corrupt.”


    The defense’s cross-examination had the witness note that Torres’ interview on the video was conducted voluntarily, and that police didn’t have enough evidence to hold him yet then.

    After a brief afternoon break, the day’s final witness took the stand at 4:53 p.m. Captain Tim Cook is a decorated officer that has been with the Bella Vista PD for 24 years. He held that same title when he was involved in the 2015 investigation.

    In addition to the Captain’s testimony, the prosecution submitted over 20 photos into evidence as they questioned him. Smith walked through each one with Cook, who identified most of them as shots taken during an investigation of the Torres family home.

    “There was a lot of blood,” Cook said in reference to multiple pictures that appeared to show it on the walls of the residence. An Arkansas Crime Lab report that confirmed that the blood was Isaiah’s was also submitted as evidence. Other photographs included buckets and a bottle of bleach found in the home’s master bathroom.

    State’s exhibit #39 was an autopsy report stating that the death was a homicide based on “chronic child abuse” and Isaiah’s rectal injury. Cook explained that Mauricio and Cathy Torres were both arrested for battery and capital murder after that report.

    Cook interviewed the defendant three times in April, 2015, and the state submitted video files on flash drives accompanied by forms that Torres signed before each that granted the police the right to do so. The jury is set to return on February 10, weather permitting, and it is expected that the prosecution will continue with Cook by showing those interviews to the jury.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/mau...ion-witnesses/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #72
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    Torres murder trial day two: Isaiah’s abuse described as ‘a family event’

    By C.C. McCandless
    KNWA News

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – On day two of Mauricio Torres’ third capital murder trial in Benton County circuit court, Captain Tim Cook of the Bella Vista Police Department returned to the witness stand to continue his testimony that began on February 9.

    Cook, a decorated and award-winning veteran officer of the force, interviewed Torres three times in April, 2015 and the prosecution submitted videos of those interviews into evidence. The morning session began at approximately 8:38 a.m. with prosecutor Nathan Smith submitting a 15-pound weight into evidence as well.

    The jury watched a lengthy video of Cook interviewing Torres, with the defendant displaying a different demeanor than in the earlier interview Cook conducted. He wasn’t as quick to deny wrongdoing.

    Cook informed Torres that an arrest warrant for him had been issued.

    “If I participated, I didn’t do things alone,” he told Cook. “I know I’m guilty by association.”

    Torres proceeded to discuss his wife’s attitude and actions in connection with their son’s death.

    “She was a lot more calmer than I was,” he explained. He also said that her behavior toward him changed after they called 911. “Her reaction was f’ing fake,” he said.

    The defendant then made the first of several references to the situation as “a puzzle,” and one for which he did not have all the pieces. But he admitted that the ultimate solution would involve him and his wife.

    “You’ve got to put both of us together,” he said. “I’m all for justice,” he added, including “punishment for the guilty.”

    The topics of discussion then took multiple, meandering detours. Torres told Cook about Cathy’s inability to express her feelings or make gestures of love and her lack of a nurturing instinct. He then veered into speculation about whether Isaiah had an undiagnosed condition like hyperglycemia or diabetes that could have been a factor in his death.

    He then discussed the boy’s problems with female authority—something he noted was an issue for himself as well. Mauricio then described his own childhood beatings with a belt at the hand of his father.

    Torres, who previously claimed he only spanked his children, admitted to hitting his son with a belt too. When pressed about whether he had ever struck him with an extension cord, Torres took an extended pause before confessing that he had.

    He eventually shed more light on Isaiah’s abuse, disclosing that the beatings became “a family event” in which he, his wife, and his daughters all participated. When asked about it, he explained that Isaiah’s sister Madison would strike him with a sandal.

    “It was like a game,” Torres said. “It was fun for them.”

    Isaiah’s punishments also included forced exercise. The undersized boy was made to do squats and push-ups, and the defendant described one event when his son tripped, fell, and hit himself in the head with a 15-pound weight.

    Then on the video, Captain Cook disclosed that the child’s cause of death had been determined. The officer described those two reasons—chronic child abuse and a severe rectal injury that led to internal bleeding and sepsis—in detail.

    “Who raped Isaiah?” Torres asked. “Not me. I have never done that. That doesn’t make any sense.”

    “This is why Isaiah died,” Cook explained. “This is why he had a stomach ache.”

    “That is a horrible death,” Torres replied. “I didn’t know anything about it. I don’t.”

    Cook went on to explain that the rape of the kindergartner wasn’t necessarily sexual in nature, and that it was more likely an issue of power.

    “That makes sense now,” the defendant admitted. Judge Brad Karren then called for a brief morning recess.

    When the jury returned, the video resumed with an impactful statement from Cook.

    “I’m arresting both of y’all,” he told Torres, who was under the impression that his wife was receiving lesser charges. The Captain explained that they were being arrested on “the exact same charges.”

    “The puzzle pieces aren’t matching very well,” Cook added. Torres responded by saying that it only took common sense to understand that the police had probable cause in the case. He even said that if he were in Cook’s place, he would do the same thing.

    In contrast to the previous day’s videos, Torres could be seen turning around in his seat at the defense table to watch the video on the large wall-mounted monitor directly above and behind him.

    Cook continued explaining the new revelations in the case by telling Torres about a pair of cushions stained with Isaiah’s blood that were recovered from the RV.

    “If he bled, I was not aware of that,” the defendant said. He then redirected the interview to a variety of topics, rambling again about the boy’s stomach ache and his children playing outside, among other things. Cook refocused his attention.

    “This is very, very serious,” the officer stated. “Someone did something that killed that boy.” He added that it would take courage and integrity for Torres to tell the complete truth.

    “If I did something, I never would have called 911,” the defendant countered, growing visibly more defensive on the video. He also reminded the officer that he had agreed to the interview willingly.

    Cook then again described the chronic abuse that Isaiah had suffered before his death.

    “Whoops,” Torres commented. “Guilty, you know.” He added that he thought the medical examiner’s report would reveal that his son had a “medical condition nobody picked up on.”

    When Cook left the frame for a brief moment, Torres rose on the screen and politely voiced his desire to talk to his lawyer.

    With the interview concluded, Nathan Smith returned to direct questioning of the witness by asking him about his overall impressions of that interview conducted approximately one week after Isaiah Torres’ murder.

    The Captain responded by saying that he felt Torres was only providing information that he wanted the police to know, and not “the full truth.” Cook added that at the time, he didn’t expect to ever speak to Torres again.

    The next video submitted into evidence was of another interview Cook held with Torres the very next day—at the defendant’s request. In this one, jurors saw him in a black-and-white striped jumpsuit for the jailhouse interview.

    Cook advised the defendant of all his rights yet again, and reminded him that he had the right to remain silent and wasn’t required to participate in the interview, with a reminder that he could stop it at any time.

    “You’re emotional now,” Cook observed. “What do you want to make right?”

    “Everything,” Torres answered. “As you know, I’ve been protecting my wife.” The defendant looked much more resigned on the monitors as the jurors watched him broach the subject of a confession.

    “When there’s a confession and truth is told, does the process move faster?” he asked. The officer explained that while there were no guarantees, it could possibly do that.

    “I am not made to be locked up,” Torres lamented. He then began discussing the idea of suicide, but noted that if he did that, “She walks,” and that “wouldn’t do justice to my son.”

    His goal was for both of them to “pay society” for what they had done, even though he had yet to admit to his specific actions on the day his son was murdered. “I want to go meet God in heaven and him punish me.”

    “If I take my own life, at least I know the truth was told.”

    Mauricio Torres, custodial interview with BVPD Captain Tim Cook, April 7, 2015

    He also questioned why his wife would receive lesser charges and Cook corrected him and reminded him that was not the case. The officer then simply asked Torres what happened.

    “I can’t betray my wife,” he said in a sentiment that he would go on to repeat over the course of the video. “I’m sorry.” Cook replied that failing to tell the truth would be a betrayal of Isaiah, not Cathy.

    “I fought for him,” Torres replied. “I now have to fight for the ones that are alive.” He later stated that what happened to his son was “accidental.”

    “Both parents are at fault,” he declared. “There’s no argument.”

    “You need to unburden your soul,” the Captain suggested. “It will eat at you.” The two continued to verbally dance around the actions of that day, with Torres alternating between refusing to betray his wife and questioning her own motives.

    “The person you’re betraying is Isaiah,” Cook said. He urged Torres to overcome his “misguided loyalty” and offer up the complete truth.

    “You will answer for this one day,” the officer said. “Don’t fail him now. And don’t fail yourself.”

    “When my son died, a part of me died with him,” the defendant said. “Forever.” He added that he was ready to pay for his sins, but that he didn’t want his wife to. Judge Karren called for a recess when the jury’s lunch arrived at approximately 11:50 a.m.

    The trial resumed at 1:23 p.m. by returning to the video. Captain Cook implored Torres to be less concerned about his wife’s welfare in the situation.

    “Cathy can take care of herself,” he said. “Cathy had a choice.”

    “Just don’t let her walk away,” Torres replied. The defendant then voiced his concerns that the law would be more lenient with her because she was the victim’s mother. Cook explained that leniency would only come for whoever spoke the truth.

    “I lost everything and nothing would be the same,” Torres stated. “I know the system just wants to find one person guilty.”

    Torres fluctuated between trying to explain away his son’s death and resenting his wife and her involvement in the killing.

    “She has betrayed our family by her actions,” Torres told Cook. “She has betrayed her little girls. And that, to me, is dishonorable.”

    “Then help me,” the officer replied. “The truth does that. Let it go.”

    Torres continued to avoid providing more specifics about the incident that killed his son, and Cook finally grew weary of that on the video.

    “Don’t say ‘betrayal’ anymore,” he stated. Torres continued his emotional rollercoaster, saying that it would be easier if he had “done something alone” while also saying that his wife had no right to send him to death. He also felt that the police were treating the crime in a “one-sided” manner.

    Torres showed relief on the video when he learned that his mother-in-law had handled Isaiah’s burial arrangements. He also voiced concern about “losing” Cook as a confidant if he revealed details about the crime scene’s location, fearing that the case’s jurisdiction would fall in Missouri.

    Captain Cook assured Torres that the case would remain in Arkansas because that is where the boy died. Cook returned to Torres’ theory about the crime being a “puzzle” by saying that the defendant was holding onto two key pieces: the location where the killing happened, and the object that was used to do it.

    Torres finally admitted that the incident that caused his son’s fatal injury happened inside their camper RV, but he was evasive about providing further details. Cook pressed him for more on the item that was used.

    “I don’t know what she did with it,” Torres claimed. “I think you’ve got an idea what it is.”

    The judge and attorneys held a brief sidebar at 2:50 p.m. and the jury agreed to press on in order to finish watching the video. Cook turned the topic back to the defendant’s wife.

    “She wants to put it on you,” he said before describing Cathy’s explanation about going to Lowe’s that day with one of the girls.

    “She’s the one lying to you,” Torres said to that. “To your face.”

    The defendant went on to say that the family slept in that morning, and he estimated that his wife’s trip to Lowe’s happened between 12 and 2 p.m. The pair then circled back to various topics they had touched on multiple times before, such as who was responsible and the specifics of Isaiah’s abuse.

    Cook informed the defendant that the crime lab had determined that the child had 50 wounds on his head at the time of his death. The Captain described it as “one of the most difficult photos I’ve ever looked at in my life.”

    Torres became agitated on the video when the questioning turned to Cathy painting him as the true villain in the scenario.

    “If I was this so-called monster, it would be a lot more to it,” he replied.

    “You all are equally culpable for what happened in Isaiah’s life,” the Captain countered.

    “Exactly,” Torres replied.

    Cook then steered the discussion to addressing chemical burns the boy had suffered on his back, and he voiced his confusion at how that could have happened. Torres chalked it up to Isaiah “playing” with them in the bathtub.

    More probing led to Torres admitting that the “inappropriate beating” of his son had been going on for two and a half years. Cook then offered the defendant a final chance to offer up details about “anything bad.”

    “We both are equally guilty, okay?” Torres said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

    At 4:10 p.m., the video concluded. Prosecutor Nathan Smith suggested that it would be best to wait to begin the video of the third interview on the next day of the trial. The judge and attorneys from both sides then briefly discussed a residence issue involving one of the jurors that all the parties agreed to address next week.

    Judge Karren informed the court that the trial will take a day off on Monday as the court uses the day to get caught up on its docket of other cases. The jurors were instructed to continue to avoid reading or talking about the case.

    Day three of the trial will continue with more state witness testimony on February 14.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/tor...-family-event/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #73
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    Mauricio Torres murder trial day 4: Defense rests after defendant takes the witness stand

    By C.C. McCandless
    KNWA News

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – Day four of Mauricio Torres’ third capital murder trial in Benton County circuit court for the abuse and killing of his son began with the jury hearing testimony the defendant provided in 2020.

    Torres has already been convicted twice for the abuse and killing of his six-year-old son, Isaiah Torres, during a weekend camping trip in 2015. The first was overturned on a sentencing technicality, and the second was declared a mistrial when Torres' stepson jumped out of the witness stand and attempted to attack him during sentencing.

    After Judge Brad Karren reminded the jury of their duties and responsibilities, prosecuting attorney Nathan Smith submitted a transcript of Torres’ testimony in a previous trial as state’s exhibit #82. That transcript was read to the jury for approximately an hour, with defense attorneys Brynna Barnica and Bryan Sexton reading the words of Smith and Torres, respectively.

    The defendant provided details about his earlier life, and explained that he left El Salvador in order to move to California at the age of 10, seeking “a piece of the American pie.” He said that his family in America owned a series of failing businesses, leading him to “split from my family and do something on my own.”

    “They worked hard but they weren’t educated,” he said of his uncles that he lived and worked with. Torres enrolled in school and studied to become an occupational therapist.

    He stated that the job appealed to him because it would allow him to be “caring, compassionate and kind and get paid for it.” He said that the core goal of his role was to help patients “maximize independence.”

    The defendant moved for work and met Cathy Torres in Northeast Arkansas. They later moved together to Bella Vista, where she worked primarily from home in medical billing.

    Torres explained that he gave her “all the power and control” that she wanted. He also said that he primarily let her handle disciplining their children and added that he was “not fond of corporal punishment.”

    He went on to say that he couldn’t risk getting in any trouble with the law, and he said that his wife threatened to throw him out of their house.

    “I felt like I was trapped,” he said. “The world revolves around her.” He added that much of what he did was done just to make her happy.

    A story about his plans to buy more land in Missouri and build a cabin there led into describing what happened on the morning of Isaiah’s murder. After catching the boy with cake on his face, the child was ordered to strip naked and stand in the corner, where his father called him “a big baby.”

    The defendant then mentioned grabbing the stick that he regularly used to beat his son, but claimed that he didn’t know what he was thinking of shortly before inserting it into the victim’s rectum and ordering him to perform “up-down” squats. He added that his wife smacked the boy on his head as this occurred, and his older daughter “encouraged” her brother to go faster.

    According to Torres, that is when the boy fell. He noted that Isaiah “made a loud cry” at the time.

    “It hurt,” the defendant observed. “Things just kind of escalated,” he said.

    As the testimony continued on to Torres’ recounting of the family’s return to Arkansas and Isaiah’s deteriorating condition, the defendant became emotional at the defense table, and he emitted a loud wail as the attorneys read about the wait for an ambulance to arrive that “seemed like an eternity.”

    Torres then embraced one of his attorneys before burying his head in his arms at his seat.

    In reading Torres’ prior testimony, the prosecution noted that the story he told in court that day was different from the ones he had provided during the police interviews on video.

    “I’ve got to make the story believable,” he said. He added that he felt that the legal process wasn’t going to “put a female in front of a firing squad.”

    Judge Brad Karren called for a morning recess at 9:37 a.m. When the proceedings resumed, prosecutor Nathan Smith took over reading his own portion of the 2020 transcript as the tone of his questioning changed.

    He began by telling Torres that this was the “fourth or fifth version” of what had happened. “You told something today that you never said before.”

    For just over an hour, Smith addressed the web of contradictory statements and lies that Torres made during his police interviews and in courtroom testimony. He pointed out that the defendant initially denied participating in the incident that killed the victim before later admitting that he did.

    “You abused your son to please Cathy Torres,” Smith said.

    “I disciplined him,” Torres responded. Smith went on to reference autopsy photos that showed that the boy had been “horrifically beaten,” including suffering a broken nose. Torres could not confirm which facial injuries he had caused.

    “It’s hard to say,” he replied. When asked how Isaiah ended up looking that way, Torres had another short response.

    “Physical abuse,” he stated.

    Smith also took issue with Torres’ claim that he didn’t believe in corporal punishment, given the state of the body at the time of death. The defendant insisted that it was still his “verbal opinion.”

    He confessed to letting that abuse continue.

    “I allowed it to go on,” he said, just moments before adding that he loved his son.

    “Now he’s dead and you killed him,” Smith countered.

    The contradictions continued as Torres denied treating his girls differently immediately before stating that they needed to be treated “like princesses.” Part of the defendant’s concern was hope that they wouldn’t grow up to be abused as adults.

    “By someone like you,” Smith interjected.

    “Yeah,” Torres answered. Smith pivoted to Isaiah’s back injuries, which were clearly evident from autopsy photos but that Torres had referred to as “faint.”

    “Does that look faint to you?” he asked, showing Torres the picture in question. “No,” the defendant replied.

    Torres’ story about his son’s fatal injury also changed when he said that his son “fell and the thing just went in him” after already admitting that he had inserted it. Smith speculated that it must have done so at an improbable “perfect angle.”

    Torres added that his wife and daughter were hitting the child on his head and shoulders when the fall happened.

    “It all happened so quickly,” Torres said. He also explained that his interviews with Bella Vista Police Captain Cook weren’t as honest or forthcoming as he initially claimed, and he admitted that he himself was “fishing” for information.

    “As he was reeling me in, I was reeling him in,” he said, noting that at that point he wasn’t trusting “anyone or anything.” He also remained concerned with his incorrect assumption that his wife would face lesser charges for Isaiah’s murder.

    “A man has disadvantages” in a situation like this, he stated. He did admit to chronic abuse, but continued to deny killing the six-year-old.

    “I did not murder my son,” he declared. Smith proceeded to ask him about the victim’s assorted injuries, receiving a combination of confirmations and evasive answers.

    Torres admitted to pulling some of the child’s teeth out with pliers and explained that his grandfather used to do that to him. But when it came to head wounds, the defendant simply said, “He’s clumsy. He’s not like an ordinary kid.”

    The defendant was also concerned with how his testimony would be received.

    “The truth that I tell today would not be believed in any court system,” he said. “To make it more believable, I have to implicate myself.”

    Smith then followed up about the “ridiculous story” that Torres just told.

    “Do you think he would have bought that?” Torres replied, referring to Captain Cook. Smith peppered the defendant with specific follow-ups, getting him to admit over and over that he had lied, including but not limited to saying he didn’t know what happened, the topic of the “faint bruise” on Isaiah’s back and not knowing who was responsible for the boy’s chemical burns—all lies.

    Smith deemed that day’s testimony “a totally new story.”

    “A totally new story?” Torres responded. “I told the truth.”

    More admissions of lies included knowing about the blood on the family home’s walls, the damage that a stick could do to internal organs and the burning of the murder weapon. Smith was incredulous as he described how Isaiah had been “beaten to a bloody pulp” and Torres’ response was to call him a “big baby.”

    That is “when the mask fell” for him, he told the defendant, quoting Torres when he said “the truth is ugly.”

    “You know that I didn’t do what I should have done,” Torres replied.

    Even with an attorney reading the transcript, it was clear that Torres became more agitated at that point, as the record reflected him repeating himself and stumbling over words. Smith eventually had to cut off “this incessant talking” to get the questioning back on track.

    He reminded Torres that during police interviews, the defendant had already admitted that he was guilty of murder.

    “Yes, I did,” Torres replied. “But the truth was said today.”

    “If you’re trying to kill me, kill me with the truth. You don’t want that to be the truth. The whole thing is horrible, horrific, sick.”

    Mauricio Torres, Transcript of State of Arkansas vs. Mauricio Torres 2020 trial

    When the reading of that transcript finished just before 11 a.m., the prosecution rested.

    The defense then filed several motions with Judge Karren, all of which were ultimately denied. Its first asserted that the “entire charge of capital murder” had been made invalid by a “vague” statement made about the nature of the crime at the start of the case.

    The next motions sought to reduce the charge of capital murder to negligent homicide, manslaughter, second-degree murder or first-degree murder. Defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig also offered a theory that the defendant was only subject to “accomplice liability.”

    “The perpetrator was Cathy Torres,” he said.

    “There’s no legal distinction,” Smith countered, noting that evidence pointed to “support that he’s acting as the principal.”

    After a lunch recess, the jury returned to the courtroom and heard from the first defense witness, Cathy Torres. She entered slowly, shackled and dressed in a black-and-white striped prison uniform.

    Defense attorney Bill James began by asking where she lived.

    “Newport,” she answered. A follow-up question revealed that she was referring to a correctional facility where she is serving her sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    Further questions explored her educational and professional history, including when she worked from home at the time of the murder. She also disputed the defendant’s claims about how often he left for work early or returned late, noting that she often began her work day before he departed.

    She confirmed that she was the family’s main caregiver and that she had provided “at least four” statements in this case to date. But after this, her recollection of related events became much less clear.

    When asked if she had ever acknowledged that she caused injury to Isaiah, she could not remember. James then walked her through all 31 autopsy photos that had been submitted into evidence and asked her to identify specific injuries that she recognized or knew the cause of.

    These were few and far between. She said one occurred when he “fell and busted his chin.” Another wound came when he slid and fell on the camper’s door.

    She responded to the photo of her son’s missing teeth and severe mouth scarring by simply saying, “He had one tooth missing because it fell out.” James was mystified when she couldn’t remember the nature of the victim’s copious amount of bruising.

    “I don’t remember a lot of stuff,” she said.

    “Have you had a lot of children beaten to death in your life?” James barked.

    Her unclear memory remained for other graphic photos of her son’s wounds.

    “A couple times he fell and hit his head,” she said when presented with bruises around his eyes. As for the gashes on his knee so deep that the medical examiner said he could see the fat, she “didn’t know anything about that.”

    “It’s fair to say your son never mentioned any of these,” James said.

    “Correct,” she said.

    Her denials continued through the remaining photos. Regarding her lack of awareness of his numerous head wounds and scars, she explained that, “He liked wearing hats.”

    She also testified that she never found blood on his clothes. She didn’t have many details about the events after they returned to Arkansas on the day of her son’s death, either.

    James asked her about the 911 call.

    “I just know that I gave her our address,” she said.

    “What were your concerns at that moment?” James queried.

    “I just wanted them to send an ambulance,” she stated. James then played that call for the jury again, which led to a distraught response from Mauricio Torres at the defense table, who started crying as he listened.

    James concluded by noting his confusion at how she had pleaded guilty to capital murder yet hadn’t admitted to anything on the stand today.

    “It defies logic, doesn’t it?” he asked rhetorically.

    Prosecuting attorney Sexton handled her cross-examination and began by submitting a statement of facts from her plea agreement into evidence.

    “Do you remember this document?” he asked as he brandished the file that she signed before being sent to prison for the rest of her life.

    “It’s been a few years,” she said before confirming that it was a true and accurate account at the time that she signed it.

    She went on to confirm that all of the family used sticks and other objects to beat Isaiah “to toughen him up” because the Torres family patriarch “wanted him to learn to be a man.”

    She also refuted her husband’s testimony about who controlled the family.

    “His needs came first,” she explained.

    James then conducted a heated re-direct of the witness, asking if she had lied to the jury today.

    “I said I wasn’t sure,” she answered. “I don’t remember everything.”

    The defense attorney then openly questioned the veracity of her testimony.

    “You would never believe this story,” he told her. “You’re not that stupid.”

    He then asked about the logic behind her plea agreement.

    “That’s the choice I made,” she said simply. She added that preventing her children from going through “trial after trial after trial” was a factor in her decision.

    “That wasn’t fair for them,” she said. She was excused from the stand at 3:10 p.m. and the judge called for a short recess.

    At 3:34 p.m., the jury returned and the defense called its second and final witness: the defendant, Mauricio Torres. After hearing hours of his testimony from videos and transcripts, the jury finally heard from him in person.

    He began by confirming that not all of his statements were true. He also addressed his “fishing” expedition during an interview with Captain Cook by explaining that he was “trying to get information” about what happened to his son, including how he died, because he alleged that he “had no idea.”

    Torres took a long pause before answering when asked why he hit his son.

    “Because my wife pushed me to it,” he finally said. He also said that he simply wanted her to leave him alone.

    He then described his regular 10-14 hour work days that ended with him arriving home and discovering his son’s newest injuries.

    “They were always arguing all the time,” he said of his wife and son. “She would get upset and hit him.” He also noted that she wanted Mauricio to get involved “every time.”

    He also presented new information, saying that he never reported the boy’s injuries because he feared that his wife would blame him.

    “I lose either way,” he said, referring to potential repercussions on his job, his future career options and his children. He also admitted that in doing nothing, he made “the wrong choice.”

    When asked about the day of his son’s murder, Torres’ story changed again. This time, he said that he woke up to find the trailer a mess, with his son naked in the corner.

    “I decided to humiliate him, to make fun of him,” the defendant said. He noted that the stick was simply off to “the side” and that he was merely “teasing” his son when he grabbed it and wielded it as “part of the humiliation.”

    He said that Isaiah was holding the stick by the “side of his buttocks” when performing the squats his parents ordered. Torres added that his wife pushed him “all the way down” when he wasn’t moving fast enough.

    After earlier reporting that he saw blood, Torres was now “not 100% sure.” After the incident that would kill his son, Torres said that the boy was “just making a face.”

    “I was more concerned about going to the bathroom,” the defendant added.

    “Did you think he was okay?” the defense attorney asked.

    “I didn’t think much of it,” Torres replied.

    The details of Torres’ story also transformed when he detailed the family’s return to Arkansas. He noted that his son made a “funny” whistling noise while snoring.

    “His eyes came halfway open,” he explained before saying that he told his wife their son “just took his last breath.”

    Nathan Smith proceeded with an energetic cross-examination, immediately referencing the graphic autopsy photos by asking Torres if the child’s chemical injury was due to bleach.

    “No, sir,” Torres replied.

    “It’s fair to say you’ve had several different statements,” Smith offered after a few more contradictions by the defendant. The manner of death was one of those.

    “You expect us to believe that your son just fell on a stick,” he stated. “The minute you take that child to a hospital, you’re going to jail.”

    He theorized that Torres didn’t call 911 until he had “no other option” because there was a dead body in his house. He then asked if Torres lied about the stick in the victim’s rectum.

    “Yes,” Torres confirmed. “I didn’t think he was going to die from it. I hit my son. I put bruises on him. So did my wife.”

    He also added that Cathy Torres “would not admit to anything.”

    “All I know is that I had to make the story believable,” he declared. Smith noted that turning her in was the man’s only option at that point.

    “But you didn’t do that,” the prosecutor noted.

    The defendant began to cry and addressed the jury directly as he tried to explain his actions or lack thereof.

    “If I would have known that that incident would have taken his life, I would have taken him to the doctor,” he said through tears.

    Smith then focused on Torres’ selfish nature, including not taking the child to the hospital despite reporting seeing blood from his injury. The prosecutor asked him point blank if he was more worried about himself.

    “I didn’t want to be alone,” the defendant answered. “I thought about myself more than my son.”

    Smith also read a quote in which Torres had referred to himself as “a victim.”

    “Are you guilty” he then asked.

    “I know I’m guilty for causing those injuries,” he admitted. He then claimed that he was trying to “preserve his family.”

    Torres’ answers became more rambling and he needed to be directed to answer counsel’s questions multiple times. The emotional defendant reminded the court that English was his second language.

    “I’ll go slow,” Smith responded. He then concluded by quoting Torres back to him.

    “The truth is ugly.”

    With that, the defense rested at 4:43 p.m. Judge Karren sent the jurors off after a brief reminder about their responsibilities.

    When heading back to the defense table, Torres nearly fell and was caught by one of his attorneys. The defense explained that the defendant had been in pain all week.

    Attorneys for both sides remained after 5 p.m. to collaborate on crafting jury instructions. The trial will resume tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. with closing arguments.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/mau...witness-stand/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  4. #74
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    This is sickening. I really hope third time is a charm and he goes back to death row.
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #75
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Jury finds Mauricio Torres guilty in capital murder trial

    By C.C. McCandless
    KNWA News

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A jury finds Mauricio Torres guilty of battery and capital murder on Feb. 16.

    Torres had already been convicted twice for the abuse and killing of his six-year-old son, Isaiah Torres, during a weekend camping trip in 2015. The first was overturned on a sentencing technicality, and the second was declared a mistrial when Torres' stepson jumped out of the witness stand and attempted to attack him during sentencing.

    The proceedings began just after 8:30 a.m. with Judge Brad Karren expanding on the instructions that he has provided to the members of the jury on a daily basis throughout the duration of the trial. He noted that they are “essential to the administration of justice” and that they are mandated to “apply the law as contained in these instructions.”

    “You are the sole judges of the weight of the evidence,” he added. He also noted that it is their responsibility to determine the credibility of witness testimony they have heard.

    He also reminded the jurors that Torres is presumed innocent until the jury is “convinced of his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” He instructed them to do that through “impartial consideration of all the evidence.”

    The judge then noted that the jury could consider lesser charges of first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide. He then reminded them that the offense of capital murder requires evidence that the defendant knowingly committed an act that was “practically certain” to lead to his son’s death.

    Prosecutor Nathan Smith began his closing argument at 9:03 a.m. with a quote from “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by English poet John Keats.

    “Beauty is truth. Truth, beauty,” he recited. He quickly pivoted away from the subject of beauty as he noted that the “abuse, torture and murder of Isaiah Torres” was “grotesque and repugnant.”

    “The last chapter of Isaiah’s story is playing out in this courtroom,” he explained. “It’s time to do justice in this case. That’s what I’m asking you.”

    He addressed the battery charge swiftly and simply by saying “I’m going to spend no time talking about it” due to the preponderance of evidence of the boy’s chronic abuse. He then referred back to a metaphorical “empty cup” of evidence that he described to jurors during voir dire by telling them it was now time to fill that cup with “building blocks of evidence.”

    He used the courtroom monitors to display PowerPoint images and began by presenting two key subjects he felt were at issue: the determination of “extreme indifference to the value of human life” and the definition of “knowingly” acting as applied to the capital murder charge. He also reminded the jury that Isaiah’s chronic child abuse was a contributing cause to his death.

    “There was no intervention,” Smith said. “And finally, there was a homicidal act.”

    He added that if the testimony from the boy’s teachers as well as the autopsy photos did not prove a clear pattern of chronic child abuse, then “that phrase has no meaning at all.”

    He continued by explaining that there was no rape charge in the case because the sodomy occurred in Missouri. He then returned to the case’s ever-present subject of “power, control and humiliation.”

    He said that the act that killed Isaiah “speaks for itself” in that regard. “Mauricio knew what was wrong with his son,” Smith said, which caused the defendant to vigorously shake his head at the defense table.

    On the subject of what constitutes “knowingly,” the prosecutor called that “utter common sense” and reminded the jury that a medical examiner had ruled that “assaultive force” was used to kill the victim.

    “The defendant tells you,” Smith said to the jury before playing an excerpt from a police interview of the defendant during which Torres said “I put it in there” and acknowledged “there’s organs in there. It’s common sense.”

    Torres also physically demonstrated the act of inserting a stick during the video.

    “I don’t know how we could have stronger evidence,” Smith declared. He added that he was “mystified” by the defendant’s recurring sentiment that the boy was only suffering from a stomach ache, calling Torres’ claims “simply untrue.”

    After more video, Smith noted that Torres was “adjusting what he is saying” during a process he admitted was “fishing” for information. Smith changed the subject to accompany a new video graphic as he asked, “What is the defendant concerned about?”

    The next clip featured Torres telling Bella Vista Police Captain Tim Cook that the defendant had “figured it out,” followed by him saying that he thought that the police had “made a deal” with Cathy Torres. Smith proceeded to categorize Torres’ behavior as “minimizing the evidence.”

    “He’s giving what he thinks he must give,” Smith explained. “You see his admissions change.” He also pointed out that Torres’ own testimony indicated that he had inserted the stick that killed his son.

    He called Torres’ ongoing references to long work hours and his weight loss an attempt to “explain the inexplicable.” He also reminded the jury that the defendant repeatedly discussed how he was “on cloud nine” at the time of the murder.

    The prosecutor also called Torres’ attempts to implicate his daughter “horrible and offensive” to a degree that they were “almost impossible to believe.” He added that Madison was the only one with no reason to lie.

    He continued by reminding the jury that the most vulgar and graphic aspects of Isaiah’s abuse before his death, including being forced to sleep in a dog cage, were all corroborated by his sister’s testimony and other evidence in the case. Smith then said that the boy’s physical state at the time of his death “would be impossible to believe” without the autopsy photographs.

    The attorney also addressed how Torres “blame-shifted” when he began attributing the child’s fatal injury to his wife and daughter.

    “Somehow he just fell,” Smith said incredulously. “Completely absurd.”

    “I want to make sure you’re clear on how the law works,” he said to the jury when it came to the subject of potential lesser offenses. He explained that the judge had instructed them to consider the most serious charge, capital murder, first. Lesser charges could only be applied if the jury disagreed regarding the first charge.

    “The evidence supports and demands a conviction for capital murder,” he said in conclusion.

    At 9:38 a.m., defense attorney Bill James began his closing argument and repeated a suggestion he had provided to the jurors at the beginning of the trial.

    “Take a deep breath,” he implored, with that sentiment also displayed in large, block letters on the courtroom’s monitors. He then reminded them that it was their burden to reach a decision “based on the law” and the facts that had been proven in court.

    “It’s easy to just go ahead and check the boxes,” he noted. “Sometimes the law doesn’t take you to where you want it to.”

    He also said that emotion should not be a factor in the process.

    “Let’s keep emotion out of this,” he said. “Don’t take it into the jury room with you.” He addressed the battery charge honestly, saying that he agreed with the prosecution.

    “It is what it is,” he said.

    The next graphic of block text read, “Pictures are evidence.”

    “Was he aware that it was practically certain to cause the child’s death?” he asked. “That’s the issue.”

    James then noted that Isaiah was not killed by chronic abuse but sepsis, a condition that can be difficult to diagnose. He also called it “important” that Isaiah was not diagnosed as malnourished at the time of his death.

    “There’s no evidence that that is part of the abuse,” he stated. He also reminded the jury that an emergency room doctor had missed sepsis because there was “no obvious rectal trauma.”

    He then made the defendant’s wife his focus, reminding the jury that she ran the house, managed the family finances and controlled the children. He again said that the defendant worked long hours and was “rarely home.”

    “He felt that she was the key to his future,” James said. As for Torres being blinded by his love for her, the defense attorney saw things slightly differently.

    “I think he loved the idea of Cathy,” he offered, before once again describing how his client had been “chasing the American dream.”

    He doubled back to the idea of intent by describing other events on the day of Isaiah’s death, and voiced skepticism that the defendant had veered from those to murder.

    “A fun walk and volunteering,” he said. “And then we’ll see if we can kill a kid.” He apologized immediately for that “crass” characterization.

    “Mauricio was not aware of the severity of the injuries” was presented on another slide. James noted that the defendant had treated his son like he simply had a stomach ache.

    “It doesn’t make sense otherwise,” James said. He also cited the testimony of a kindergarten teacher who said that the boy often suffered from them.

    James then stated that the victim “crashed fast” upon the family’s return to Arkansas, and scoffed at the idea that there was any attempt to drag things out before calling 911. He then moved on to Cathy Torres’ testimony and demeanor, both on the witness stand and during the 911 call.

    “Cathy shows no emotion on the call,” said the next graphic. James observed that she also “didn’t even blink” when shown a photograph of her dead son’s organs. As for her husband being the controlling one, he spoke to that as well when he called his client a “broken down, messed-up unit over here.”

    He reiterated the sentiment that Mauricio tried to save Isaiah by performing CPR, placing a CPAP machine on his face and leaving a door open and a light on before an ambulance arrived on scene.

    James did concede that there were some contradictions in the defendant’s testimony.

    “There’s some lies,” he admitted. “He’s fishing and he said he’s fishing.” He added that Cathy entered a guilty plea to capital murder but only “made some halfway admissions to knowing something” during her testimony.

    The defense attorney then took issue with Madison’s testimony, calling the degree to which her story changed “preposterous.”

    “She can say anything she wants because everyone believe her,” he said of the now 15-year-old girl. “The more horrible, the better.”

    James then repeated the claim that the defendant was never aware that Isaiah could die due to his actions. He also explained that Torres “doesn’t express himself the best.”

    The defense attorney referenced a Billy Joel lyric from “The Stranger” to categorize the Torres couple’s relationship, saying that “sometimes we know that dark person we’re with.” He then deemed his client’s decision to implicate himself in the murder a “kamikaze plan.”

    “Mauricio was trapped,” he added. He also said that the defendant “certainly made the wrong choices in this case.”

    He then compared the assortment of potential lesser charges to a Taco Bell menu.

    “It’s generally the same meat,” he said. He ran through the aspects of the different charges and reminded the jury about their instructions regarding reasonable doubt.

    He said that Mauricio’s cup of being “aware” of committing capital murder was empty.

    “He’s going to be guilty of something, I’m assuming,” he noted. “Find him guilty for what he did.”

    Judge Karren called for a short recess at 10:32 a.m.

    At 10:48 a.m., prosecutor Nathan Smith began his rebuttal by agreeing with something James said.

    “This case is difficult to look at,” he said. He then transitioned right to the defendant’s claim about being unaware of the cause and manner of death.

    “That was a lie,” he said, slowly and loudly enunciating each word. “He was the one who did it to him.”

    He added that Torres’ repetition of lies didn’t make them true. He called the very existence of that claim “an absurdity” considering “the defendant’s own words” about common sense regarding the killing. He also took issue with the defendant referring to “whatever happened.”

    “We know what happened,” Smith reminded the jury. “This homicidal act occurred in the context of this abuse. These pictures are absolutely evidence of all that.”

    Smith added that Torres’ attempts at separating the incident from the boy’s death were “nonsensical.” He added that the victim was “hanging on by a thread” toward the end of his life.

    “Kids aren’t going to Walmart randomly stealing food,” he said as he characterized the boy’s actions as “foraging for himself.”

    He also verbally deflected the defense’s attempts to make this trial about the defendant’s wife.

    “I’m not asking you to think anything good about Cathy Torres,” he explained. “She’s a murderer.”

    But he noted that all of the evidence indicated that the defendant’s best-case scenario was that he was “equally guilty,” as well as Isaiah’s primary abuser.

    “Madison told you,” he said. “Any day could have been the day when they killed this child.”

    Smith’s voice increased in volume when he noted that Torres was fully aware of what killed his son.

    “If he had known,” he said sardonically before turning to look at the defendant. “You know good and well.”

    Another thing he says Torres knew was that he would go to jail the first time a medical professional saw Isaiah’s injuries. He repeated that the defendant knew exactly what happened that was killing the victim, and he described the use of Pepto-Bismol as a “hail mary.”

    “Maybe he won’t bleed out,” Smith said with an edge in his voice. “Maybe he won’t die.”

    But when that happened, he explained that finally calling 911 was the only option, because with a dead body in the house, “There is nothing else to do. And then this series of stories begins.”

    The prosecutor remained emotional as he then described “one of the most amazing things I heard” that he “did not believe” he would hear in a closing argument: the defense’s assertion that Madison’s testimony was an attempt to save herself.

    “This is what the defense is willing to have you believe,” he mocked. “It is offensive and flies in the face of all the evidence.”

    Smith then told the jury that shoelaces were found behind the sink in the camper, and Madison must have been “an astonishingly good witness” to come up with that observance if she didn’t really know it. He called that “devastating for the defense.”

    He agreed with the defense one more time, saying that Mauricio and Cathy Torres were both responsible, but he focused on the actions of the defendant in this case.

    “The evidence here shows you he is guilty of capital murder,” he stated. “The evidence here against him is overwhelming.”

    Next, he picked at the “latest version” of Torres’ story, saying that the man “leaned into” the new idea that Isaiah fell.

    “It makes no sense at all,” Smith said. He noted that the events Torres previously described in which he inserted the stick in his son’s rectum were a “far simpler and more credible explanation.” He also pointed out that Torres had told Cook it wasn’t the first time he had done that to the victim.

    The prosecutor then advised the jury not to confuse premeditation with the key term of “knowingly” committing an act that would result in death.

    “Don’t be confused on the mental state,” he advised, noting the “unmistakable proof of what he knew at that time.” He then repeated Torres’ comment about common sense regarding such an injury involving internal organs.

    “Do justice,” he implored. He observed that for almost eight years, Mauricio Torres had “not been held to account.” He also instructed the jury to look at the highest charge, capital murder, first. And if the 12 jurors agreed about that, then there was “no more need to look at any of the lesser charges.”

    He cited the difficulty of the case, but stated that the state had “met our elements” for a capital murder charge.

    “I know I won’t forget what I have seen,” he told the jurors. “But justice must be done.”

    He concluded that the defendant took his inherent “malice, cruelty and depravity” and then “poured it into the life of Isaiah Torres.”

    “The case is yours now,” he told them. “I ask that you do justice.”

    Judge Karren released the jury to begin their deliberations at 11:12 a.m.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/jur...-murder-trial/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #76
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    Torres’ adult children detail physical, sexual abuse during sentencing hearing

    By C.C. McCandless
    KNWA News

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – One day after a Benton County circuit court jury found Bella Vista’s Mauricio Torres unanimously guilty of the murder of his six-year-old son in 2015, the parties returned to the courthouse to begin the sentencing phase of the case in which the state is seeking the death penalty.

    On February 16, the jury deliberated for approximately four hours before returning with guilty verdicts on charges of battery in the first degree and capital murder after evidence and witness testimony indicated that the child had been a victim of chronic child abuse for over a year before he died from sepsis after Torres inserted a stick inside him and perforated the boy’s rectum.

    Under Arkansas law, the jury is now tasked with choosing one of two possible outcomes in this case: Torres can be sentenced to death, or he can be sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole. Judge Brad Karren provided sentencing instructions and informed the jury that additional evidence regarding sentencing would be presented by the state and the defense. He noted that they may consider this evidence and everything from the trial in order to make their decision.

    “You have already delivered a just conviction,” prosecutor Nathan Smith told them to begin the hearing. He stated that everything the state would present today was in connection with demonstrating aggravating circumstances in this case.

    He then reminded them of three thresholds the state must meet in order for a death sentence to be delivered. These include at least one aggravating circumstance as unanimously agreed upon by the jury, that aggravating circumstances must outweigh any mitigating ones and that those aggravating circumstances justify a sentence of death beyond a reasonable doubt.

    He added that the death sentence should be imposed in the event of a murder committed in an “especially cruel or depraved manner” in which mental anguish, serious physical abuse or torture are committed against an “especially vulnerable” victim.

    Smith would proceed to address those concerns by calling three witnesses to testify about prior abuse that they suffered at the hands of Torres years ago. He also explained to the jury that prior violent felonies committed by Mauricio were relevant even without criminal convictions.

    “I’m going to ask you to do justice one more time,” he said to the jurors.

    Defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig also presented an opening statement.

    “This is going to be a very hard decision for you to make,” he said directly to the jury. “We respect your decision.”

    He added that the sentencing would involve “the power of life and death,” and stated that this was a “solemn responsibility” for them. He also explained that Torres will die in prison no matter what, and now it was only a question of whether his lifespan would be “artificially shortened.”

    He also referred to co-counsel Bill James’ description of Torres as a “messed-up unit” and told the jury that they would learn today “how Mauricio Torres got that way,” admitting that his client suffers from “significant issues.” He then noted that the upcoming prosecution witnesses “never told anyone about any of this until after their father had been arrested for these charges in 2015.”

    He alleged that the upcoming testimony would be “problematic,” and he noted that one of the witnesses had been coached on what to say. He added that the jury would also hear from Torres’ father and an uncle before moving on to what he described as the “single most salient and unusual” aspect of Torres’ life—the fact that he never met his mother, and that there was actually “some dispute” over his parentage.

    The defense attorney then regaled the jury with a story about Torres’ upbringing in El Salvador, where he was raised as a young boy by his 18-year-old father, grandfather and his uncles. Rosenzweig explained that as an infant, Mauricio was presented to his father, Edgar, with a simple statement.

    “He’s yours, I’m gone,” the mother reportedly said. While the identity of that woman is known, the attorney then said that there was unconfirmed speculation that Mauricio was actually the product of an incestuous relationship. Rosenzweig described Torres’ father and uncles as “fitness buffs” that would exercise for hours, including the infamous “up-downs” referenced so often during the trial.

    The attorney described that as “something that echoed into the future.” He continued by saying that Torres “managed to get himself out of there” and he explained that the man “cut off all contact with his family” for approximately 20 years after leaving until attorneys in this case “showed up at Edgar Torres’ doorstep in California.”

    Rosenzweig told the jury that Torres’ harsh upbringing was something “he couldn’t psychologically outrun.”

    “The child is the father of the man,” he observed. He asked the jury to exercise their own “personal, moral judgment” and noted that prison is a place where Torres “can help other inmates” with his skills.

    The state’s first witness in this sentencing hearing was Bailey Perrin, 23, who lives in Arkansas and works as a pharmacy technician. She explained that she is Cathy Torres’ biological daughter and that she stopped living with her mother at the age of four.

    She told the jury that Mauricio Torres touched her in a sexual manner at the age of four when the family was living in Jonesboro. He also forced her to perform sexual acts on him.

    “I ended up doing it because that’s what he told me to do,” she explained, before describing multiple other sexual assaults she suffered from him. She said that she was afraid to tell anyone what had happened to her.

    “How strong are these memories?” prosecutor Nathan Smith asked.

    “They haunt me,” she replied.

    Witness number two was Maurice Torres, 27, who lives in Jonesboro and works in equipment quality control. He is married with two daughters and explained that his parents are Leah Smith and Mauricio Torres.

    He lived with them until the age of seven or eight, in both California and Arkansas. When asked if he had suffered physical abuse at the hands of his father, his response was short.

    “I did,” he stated, before adding that there was “a lot of hitting, a lot of kicking” and instances of throwing the children around and yanking and dragging them by their ears. Smith asked if circumstances changed after the family moved to Arkansas.

    “The same, really,” the witness said. “More often when we moved.” He said that one time when he couldn’t find his shoes fast enough, his father kicked him so hard that the boy vomited and was forced to eat it.

    The line of discussion moved to sexual abuse, and the witness became emotional as he explained that this happened “many times.” At the defense table, Torres could be seen wincing as his son described this.

    Maurice said that he lived in fear of the consequences if he tried to refuse doing what his father wanted. He fought through tears on the stand to describe the physical scars that he still bears from his father’s abuse.

    A brief cross-examination reminded the jury that this childhood abuse was not reported until well after it happened. A redirect by the prosecution elicited even more graphic details, including the fact that Torres had forced the witness and his sister to abuse and assault each other.

    Maurice’s older sister, Ericka Torres, 29, was the state’s third and final witness of the morning. Her testimony covered much of the same territory as that of her brother, who she affectionately called “Gizmo.” She now lives in Tampa and works as a veterinary technician supervisor for an animal emergency hospital.

    She corroborated the testimony about the family’s time in California and Arkansas, noting that it included many instances of physical abuse. She told the jury that beatings from Torres with a sandal, extension cord or belt were a “pretty normal thing.”

    “I’d definitely have marks,” she said. “Bruises.” The prosecuting attorney asked how often this happened.

    “It was a regular thing,” she answered. “Daily.”

    She had to take a deep breath before describing a specific time when her brother got into trouble for sleeping in her room.

    “He was scared,” she explained. “Would have nightmares.” When their father found out, he beat his son with a coat hanger and forced him to perform “up-downs.” Maurice received further beatings when he grew tired from doing that.

    Ericka became tearful and more emotional when she explained that she was also forced by Torres to be violent with her brother. Tears rolled down her face as she described the resulting marks and scars that the abuse left.

    Smith then asked if she was afraid of what might happen if she didn’t comply with her father’s demands.

    “Yes,” she replied. “Yes, absolutely.”

    The testimony took an even darker turn as she described the sexual assaults her father inflicted on her, and how she never told anyone due to her fear. When asked how often that had happened, her answer was short.

    “I didn’t try to keep count,” she said after a deep breath. After a short cross-examination, the state rested.

    Torres shook his head vigorously at the defense table and extended his hand with a palm facing forward in the universal gesture for “stop” as his daughter spoke.

    The court took a short morning recess before the defense called its first witness, Mauricio Torres’ father.

    Edgar Torres, 72, said that he was born in El Salvador as the defense submitted several family photos into evidence. He explained that he had to leave there when civil war eventually reached the family’s neighborhood. Mauricio remained behind with his grandfather and some uncles for about a year before joining his father in California.

    Torres began to cry at the defense table again as he listened to his father describe having the infant left with him. The father admitted that he did have Mauricio engage in exercise, and was asked if he felt that he had overdone it in that regard.

    “For a long time, I think no,” he answered. “But now I think yes. Maybe I was wrong.”

    Rosenzweig then raised the possibility of incest regarding Mauricio’s real mother.

    “That was a rumor,” the witness stated. On the matter of corporal punishment, he said “I don’t really like to do the belt,” but admitted that he did it to his son once or twice.

    The prosecution had no questions for the witness, so the next one was called to the stand.

    Mario Torres, Edgar Torres’ younger brother and Mauricio’s uncle, provided similar testimony about the family’s struggles during the civil war in El Salvador before they moved to America. He was also asked if they “overdid it” when it came to disciplining Mauricio.

    “Probably, yes,” he said. “It was hard to tell.” He also bemoaned the child’s lack of a mother in his life, but said that “we thought that our love was enough.”

    The prosecution had no cross-examination questions for the witness.

    Next up was Shari Reed, Mauricio’s ex-aunt, who married his uncle Mario in 1981. She lived with the Torres family for approximately three years and said that young Mauricio was “quiet” and “seemed sad a lot.”

    She also described him as “love-starved” and said that he sought out affection from women, including her. She then told the jury that Mauricio was forced to perform exercises as punishment.

    “It would be a lot,” she explained. It also “didn’t take a lot for him to get punished” by his father or uncle. She added that he would also be struck with a belt if he slowed down.

    Reed also accused Mauricio’s father and uncle of calling him assorted derogatory names. She then went into a story about the rumors regarding Mauricio’s lineage.

    “There was a mystery around who his mother really was,” she claimed. She finished by noting that Mauricio’s father and uncles were all physically abusive to their wives and girlfriends.

    Nathan Smith only had a few questions during cross, seeking to clarify whether Reed had any actual firsthand knowledge about Mauricio’s mother. She did not.

    After a lunch recess, the jury returned and the hearing resumed at 1:33 p.m. with very brief testimony from an inmate that Torres has met while incarcerated. This witness explained that their topics of discussion are regarding “mostly religion” and how they “want to help other people find God.”

    The fifth defense witness was three-time convicted murderer Mauricio Torres, who began testifying by saying that he never knew his mother, and that by age three he began asking “where’s my mommy?” He said that when he asked about that a couple of years later, one of his uncles told him that “some things are better left alone.”

    He also described forced exercises he performed from the age of three, and punishment for tasks such as being unable to button a shirt. From age 10-12, he was forced into boxing but said he “deliberately lost every fight.”

    The tears began to flow when he discussed not receiving enough praise. He then called his job as an occupational therapist “the only place where I could give and receive unconditional love.” He added that his elderly clients would treat him “like a celebrity.”

    When asked about the day’s earlier testimony by his adult children, he deemed it “false.” He added that since his arrest for Isaiah’s murder, he has wanted to “give his life to the Lord.” He said he was baptized at the Benton County jail.

    “I’m begging you to please don’t kill me,” he said to the jury. “Give me the opportunity to redeem myself. I want to be an ambassador of Christ. Maybe all this happened for a reason.”

    During cross-examination, prosecution attorney Nathan Smith observed that the revelations about Mauricio’s mother were “very new information.” He then asked if God was important to him.

    “He’s everything to me,” Torres replied. “He’s all I got.”

    Smith followed up by asking if the truth was important before referring to a 2002 court document regarding abuse of Bailey Perrin. Torres deflected the responsibility for that incident to Cathy Torres.

    “So again, Cathy’s fault,” Smith observed, before reminding Torres that this was “not the first time any of that has come up.” He went on to catch Torres in another lie reflected in testimony in another hearing in which he said he had “no other biological children,” ignoring his older ones.

    “Yes, I lied about that,” Torres confirmed. Smith then asked if this was some of the “unconditional love” that Torres mentioned earlier, then asserted that he lied out of concern about a potential DHS visit. Torres said that what Smith was saying was “confusing.”

    “You were lying then, but today you’re telling the truth?” Smith countered. Torres then went on to deny any abuse of Ericka.

    “I never spanked her,” he said. “She was always very good.”

    Holding a large DHS binder labeled “Torres Family,” Smith referred to it again regarding a 2014 incident with Isaiah. Torres explained that the school had called the department, who in turn contacted Torres.

    He told them that he was an occupational therapist that “knew his son,” and said that he would take the boy to a doctor to be examined. He never did.

    Smith then asked if Torres considered himself a success, to which he said no, explaining that there were always more levels to be reached.

    “Then what do you want?” Smith asked.

    “I want them not to kill me,” he responded, pointing at the jury. As he left the witness stand, Torres attempted to make a final plea to the jurors before he was admonished by Judge Karren.

    The day’s final defense witness was Dr. Benjamin Silber, a board-certified forensic psychologist. He told the jury about his extensive education and professional experience, and noted that he has testified in court over 70 times. He was submitted as an expert witness.

    He examined Torres twice, once in person and once over Zoom, and spoke to other people that know him. He added that he also read thousands of pages of documents related to the case.

    His finding was that Torres meets the criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, for which there are “a number of considerations.” One requirement is “a presence of a trauma,” but he added that this alone is not enough.

    He detailed some of the other symptoms and behaviors often reflected in an individual with a PTSD diagnosis, which can include nightmares, unwelcome thoughts and detachment. He noted that it is often present with “co-occurring mental disorders” such as depression.

    The doctor stated that there can be a motivation for dishonest responses from patients during such examinations, and he then added that he saw nothing suggesting that specific mental impairment was present in Torres at the time of the murder.

    Smith asked if some initial PTSD symptoms need to be self-reported by the patient. The doctor confirmed that was the case. Smith observed that there are “no blood tests for frequent stressful thoughts” before asking point-blank if PTSD is “easy to fake.”

    “Yes, it is,” Dr. Silber confirmed. When Smith probed for further specifics regarding the diagnosis, the doctor said that Torres “denied more than half of the PTSD symptoms when asked.”

    A follow-up question led the doctor to state that “quite a few medical conditions” could have contributed to Torres’ symptoms.

    He added that there are “a number of things that can impact his sleep.”

    At 3:12 p.m., the defense rested and Judge Brad Karren called for a weekend recess. The sentencing phase will resume at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 21.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/tor...ncing-hearing/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #77
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Jury deliberating over sentence in Mauricio Torres capital murder trial

    By C.C. McCandless
    nwahomepage.com

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — After unanimously finding Mauricio Torres guilty of the battery and murder of his six-year-old son in 2015, a Benton County circuit court jury is undecided regarding his sentence after one afternoon of deliberations.

    Proceedings resumed in Judge Brad Karren’s courtroom on February 21 following a sentencing hearing last week during which each side called multiple witnesses to demonstrate aggravating or mitigating circumstances in the murder of Isaiah Torres during a family camping trip. Torres had already been convicted twice for the abuse and killing of his son.

    The first was overturned on a sentencing technicality, and the second was declared a mistrial when Torres’ stepson jumped out of the witness stand and attempted to attack him during sentencing. This jury deliberated for approximately four hours before finding him guilty of capital murder for a third time.

    Judge Karren began the February 21 sentencing hearing by providing lengthy instructions to the jury regarding their responsibilities and the requirements for delivering a death sentence. He spoke directly about the aggravating and mitigating circumstances that the attorneys would again describe in detail.

    The possible events that could qualify as aggravating circumstances included if the jury found that Torres inflicted “cruel or inhumane physical punishment on a child.” Regarding prior felonies that Torres committed, even if he was not convicted, aggravating circumstances include engaging in “deviant sexual activity” through “forcible compulsion.”

    At 9:18 a.m., prosecuting attorney Nathan Smith began his closing statement by citing the “darkness of the evidence” that the jury had been presented with during the trial, acknowledging that they had seen things that they certainly would never forget.

    “I believe you’re on this jury for a purpose,” he told them before reminding the jurors that he understood the difficulty they dealt with to “confront the evidence.”

    He noted that they had already delivered a “just verdict” and that he was now asking for them to provide a “just sentence.”

    “He chose how dark and awful this case is,” he said of Torres. “He abused, tortured and murdered a six-year-old boy.”

    Smith then described the four forms that the jurors would be presented and went through specifics of each in detail. He reminded the jury about the testimony provided by Torres’ adult children in which they detailed suffering extensive physical, sexual and emotional abuse at his hands.

    He clarified that those acts had occurred in both California and Arkansas, but then he simplified the matter by telling the jury that they only needed to agree that Torres had committed one. Smith said that more than that would add weight to the collective aggravating circumstances.

    The prosecutor detailed that the murder of Isaiah Torres was committed in a cruel or depraved manner. He noted that the boy suffered “mental anguish” due to the “uncertainty as to his ultimate fate.”

    He then walked the jurors through the literal boxes he was asking them to check on their forms by indicating those spots on a PowerPoint graphic displayed on monitors in the courtroom. He then addressed whether Mauricio and Cathy Torres were equal in their conduct.

    “The evidence is clearly ‘no,'” he said. He added that Torres continued to “minimize his own responsibility.”

    “This is a grave decision, and it should be,” he told the jurors. “The death penalty in this case is justice.”

    Defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig then began his final statement by asking the jury for a little more patience with him.

    “I hope you’ll bear with me,” he said, noting that he was going to repeat himself because the matter at hand involved them individually and collectively wielding “the power of life and death.”

    “This is as solemn a decision as you can possibly make,” he observed, and then he asked the jury to “spare the life of Mauricio Torres.”

    “Any one of you can do that,” he added. He also said that if given a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, Torres would spend the remainder of his days in a maximum security facility and “probably wouldn’t even see a child” for the rest of his life. He then focused on his client’s lack of intent to kill his son.

    “That ought to count for something,” he suggested. He added that Torres didn’t intend to inflect mental anguish, either.

    He briefly touched on the subject of justice, calling it a proposition that is not “one size fits all.” He also chose to rephrase his co-counsel’s description of Torres as a “messed-up unit,” instead describing him as a “wretch.”

    As it has done throughout the trial, the defense then turned the focus on Cathy Torres.

    “Is this fair?” he asked. “To execute Mauricio Torres when Cathy Torres was involved?” He also claimed that she “performed the act” that killed Isaiah.

    Rosenzweig then reiterated key moments of Torres’ childhood and upbringing, noting how the boy was “starved for affection” while “dodging bullets” as Civil War was “raging in his childhood neighborhood.”

    He also touched on the PTSD diagnosis and his client’s history as a “hard worker.” The attorney also offered that Torres has “a complete lack of self-esteem.”

    “He managed to pull himself up and get an education in a helping profession,” Rosenzweig stated, before adding that Torres will no longer be a threat to anyone.

    “He’s a broken wretch of a man,” he said. “His life is in your hands. Justice must be tempered with mercy.”

    After a brief morning break, Smith provided a short rebuttal statement and immediately took note of the defense’s description of Torres as “broken.”

    “The only person in this case who is broken is Isaiah Torres,” he said, adding that everything the child could have been was “taken by the defendant.” He also took issue with the defense harping on the theory that Torres’ actions were not premeditated.

    “Should he be rewarded?” he asked the jury. “This ongoing abuse was routine.” He added that the issue of intent was “completely irrelevant.”

    He then attacked the ongoing attempts to divert attention to the defendant’s wife.

    “The defense wants this trial to be about anything but him,” he explained. “He committed the homicidal act. This is his legal proceeding. His crimes.”

    Smith added that the evidence “clearly set him apart” from his wife, and said that asserting that she was more responsible “flies in the face of the evidence in the case.”

    He also addressed the ramifications of the sentence.

    “Imposing the death penalty says something about us,” he said. “That Isaiah’s life had value.”

    Smith also called the defense’s request for mercy “offensive” and “outrageous.”

    “Mercy should never work toward injustice,” he stated, saying that anything less than a death sentence would be “an unjust sentence based on the evidence.”

    “He wants you to feel pity for his choices,” he said of Torres, a man he described as “far into middle age,” in contrast to the defense’s stories about his childhood. “He had no pity and no sympathy for Isaiah Torres.”

    Smith also disagreed with the categorization of Torres suffering from low self-esteem.

    “Nothing could be further from the truth,” he noted before addressing Torres’ arrogance and callousness, reminding the jury that the defendant described himself as “on cloud nine” shortly after the murder.

    “He never felt better,” Smith announced.

    “This case is a difficult one,” he said, before wishing that nobody present had to be there, observing that the case had been “forced upon us in this courtroom.” He told the jurors that Mauricio Torres had committed a “wrong so monstrous and evil” that only a sentence of death would bring justice.

    At 10:56 a.m., Judge Karren told the jury that now was finally the time to “go back and deliberate.” They had not reached a decision by 4:37 and Judge Karren adjourned court for the day.

    The jury will return to continue deliberations on February 22 at 8:30 a.m.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/jur...der-trial/amp/
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

  8. #78
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    OMG he got life..damn..

    Jury imposes life sentence in Mauricio Torres capital murder case

    By C.C. McCandless
    KNWA News

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) – On the second day of sentencing deliberations, a Benton County jury has imposed a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole on Mauricio Torres for abusing and murdering his son.

    The jurors deliberated for about an hour on day two before unanimously arriving at the decision. The same jury convicted Torres of battery in the first degree and capital murder last week for killing his six-year-old son Isaiah during a family camping trip in 2015.

    Torres had already been convicted twice for the abuse and killing of his son. The first was overturned on a sentencing technicality, and the second was declared a mistrial when Torres' ste[spm jumped out of the witness stand and attempted to attack him during sentencing.

    This jury deliberated for approximately four hours before finding him guilty of capital murder for a third time on February 16. Witnesses for both sides testified during a February 17 sentencing hearing, including some of Torres’ now-adult children speaking about physical, sexual, and psychological abuse he inflicted upon them as minors.

    The jury was released from the courtroom just before 11 a.m. on February 21 to decide if Torres will receive the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole but had not agreed on a sentence by shortly after 4:30 p.m. and were released for the day.

    The court announced that the jury had reached a verdict shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. They returned to the courtroom at 9:37 a.m. and Judge Brad Karren read the sentencing form aloud.

    Torres was also fined $15,000 but the judge suspended that because of concerns about his ability to pay it. Torres also must register as a sex offender and may not contact his adult children and stepchildren.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/jur...l-murder-case/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #79
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Once again justice is denied because an anti makes it onto the jury. Just like the Cruz trial.
    Thank you for the adventure - Axol

    Tried so hard and got so far, but in the end it doesn’t even matter - Linkin Park

    Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. - Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt

    I’m going to the ghost McDonalds - Garcello

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