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Thread: Mauricio Alejandro Torres - Arkansas

  1. #31
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    Jury Sentences Mauricio Torres to the Death Penalty

    The jury that found Mauricio Torres guilty of capital murder have sentenced him to the death penalty.

    On Monday, a jury found Torres guilty of murdering his 6-year-old son Isaiah Torres. Isaiah Torres died on March 30, 2015. Police said Isaiah Torres died as a result of severe child abuse.

    The defense said Mauricio Torres didn't knowingly cause his son's death, so he didn't deserve capital punishment.

    Isaiah Torres' mother, Cathy Torres, also faces a capital murder charge and is set to go on trial at a later date.

    http://www.nwahomepage.com/news/jury...-death-penalty
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  2. #32
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Previous:

    At sentencing, five more children and stepchildren of Mauricio Torres allege previous abuse


    By Benjamin Hardy
    The Arkansas Times

    After a Benton County jury on Monday found Mauricio Torres guilty of capital murder and first degree battery in the 2015 death of his 6-year-old son, Isaiah Torres, the eight women and seven men heard testimony of more child abuse as the sentencing phase of the trial began.

    Three former stepchildren and two biological children of Torres, all of whom lived with the defendant during the late 1990s or early 2000s, spoke on Monday. All but one are now young adults in their early 20s (the fifth is still a minor). And all told the court that they suffered chronic abuse at the hands of Mauricio Torres. Some alleged sexual crimes, some said they were repeatedly beaten and struck, and some said they experienced both physical and sexual abuse.

    After the defense calls witnesses on Tuesday — the defendant's father or uncle may testify, attorneys have previously said — the jury will decide whether Torres should receive the death penalty or be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The emotional, charged testimony delivered on Monday began to illuminate crucial aspects of the Torres case that have been unclear since the murder of Isaiah in 2015. Soon after the arrest of the Bella Vista man and his wife, Cathy Torres, who also stands accused of murder and will be tried separately, the Arkansas Times learned the two parents had at least five children removed from their home by a Craighead County court in the early 2000s. At the time, the couple lived in Jonesboro.

    The Arkansas Department of Human Services investigated multiple reports of child maltreatment before the five children were eventually adopted to other families around 2005.

    But, the couple evidently moved across the state to Northwest Arkansas soon after their parental rights were terminated and soon had three more children, including Isaiah.

    On Monday, the jury heard from three of the children from the Torres family's years in Jonesboro, one of whom is a teenager. (This newspaper will avoid using her name, since she is still a minor.) The other two are young men now serving prison sentences in Northeast Arkansas — Quentin Martin, 21, and Nicholas Martin, 22. All three were the biological children of Cathy Torres by other men before she married Mauricio, and all three lived with the couple in Jonesboro in the 2000s. The Torres household at the time also included two other siblings who were not present today. However, the jury did hear more testimony from Maurice Torres, Jr., 21, and Erica Torres, 24, the biological children of Mauricio Torres by a previous wife before he married Cathy.

    The teenage stepdaughter told the jury she lived with Cathy up until she was around 4 1/2 years old. Mauricio entered the picture when she was around 3, she said. It "wasn't the greatest life that someone could have," she said. "I was sexually abused ... by Mauricio Torres." She recalled two instances in which Mauricio allegedly placed his lips to her vagina, among other sexual acts. In 2004, a Jonesboro police report was filed alleging Torres raped the girl. But defense attorney Jeff Rosenzweig pointed out that at the time, her biological father was engaged in a custody dispute with Cathy Torres over the girl. He noted the 2004 criminal investigation evidently did not result in any charges against Torres, and that she told the investigator at the time (that is, when she was 4) that she'd rehearsed describing the alleged abuse with an adult.

    "I’ve been to counselors throughout my entire life, just to get over everything," the young woman said today.

    Quentin Martin, who is currently serving a sentence for breaking and entering and theft of property, said he lived with Mauricio and Cathy Torres when was between the ages of 4 and 8 along with his brothers and sister. "It was a daily occurrence, where we'd get hit with belts ... from our ankles to the top of our backs," he said, clad in stripes on the witness stand. "I guess for his amusement, he’d make us come into the living room and fight each other, and if we didn’t, he’d hit us." Mauricio once hit him over the head with a piece of wood, hard enough to leave a serious injury, he said. Quentin also described sleep deprivation sessions, regiments of exercises for punishment, and sexual acts that he alleged his father would make him and his brothers perform on one another. (He said his father never touched him directly, nor any of his brothers.)

    However, Nicholas Martin said during his testimony that he didn't recall sexual abuse regarding himself or his brothers (although he said he believed Mauricio was molesting his sister). Martin is in jail for a drug charge and is awaiting trial for felony possession of a firearm. When asked by the prosecutor whether Mauricio ever physically abused him, he began breathing heavily and shakily. "Oh, yeah," he said. He described being forced to fight his brothers and being routinely hit with a belt by hhis stepfather. "When that wouldn't work, he'd use a wire coat hanger ... [or] his fists. ... If we cried, it'd be two or three more licks until we stopped crying." He and his brothers didn't tell anyone, he said, because "we feared for our lives."

    Along with the inconsistency in the testimony about sexual abuse, defense attorney Rosenzweig attempted to establish doubt over the brothers' testimony by presenting multiple written interviews of the children performed by child welfare investigators in the early '00s. In the interviews, both boys said their injuries were accidental or were caused by normal childhood activities, such as playing football. On the stand on Monday, both young men became visibly angry and upset when shown these words of theirs from over a decade ago. "We was made to say that," Quentin Martin said, later adding "we were scared ... Why wouldn't I lie? I didn't want to get hurt no more."

    Maurice Torres, Jr., and Erica Torres didn't live with Cathy's children, but they said they were repeatedly sexually and physically abused by their father before he left their mother. Maurice said his father would hit him "multiple times a day" with his fists or with "anything that was close by," and that the beatings began "when I was around 4 or 5." He also said his father had intercourse with him on a frequent basis. He confirmed to Rosenzweig that he did not tell anyone about the sexual abuse until last year, after Torres was arrested for the murder of Isaiah.

    Several of the others who took the stand on Monday glanced in the direction of Mauricio Torres, but Erica Torres stared at him so directly and confrontationally that attorneys repeatedly had to ask for her attention. "It was hell. I was afraid every day ...

    He said he'd kill me, my brother and my mom." Seemingly overcome with emotion, she said her father would force sexual intercourse on her as well, but told Rosenzweig said she never told her mother or anyone else about the abuse until last year.

    Tomorrow, the jury will decide whether Mauricio Torres goes to death row or serves life without the possibility of parole.

    http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog...previous-abuse
    "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. #33
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    Mauricio Alejandro Torres entered Arkansas' death row on November 15, 2016.

    http://adc.arkansas.gov/death-row

  4. #34
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    Related:

    Cathy Torres Takes Plea Deal for Death of 6-Year-Old Isaiah Torres


    By Karella Kordsmeier
    KNWA News

    BENTON COUNTY, Ark. -- Cathy Torres took a plea of agreement on Wednesday to avoid the death penalty. Torres pleaded guilty to capital murder and battery and was sentenced to life without parole for the capital murder charge and 20 years for the battery charge, according to Benton County Prosecutor Nathan Smith.

    Torres was accused of brutally abusing her son until he died. She was facing capital murder and first degree battery charges.

    In November 2016, Torres's husband Mauricio was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to the death penalty. In his trial, the defense argued that Mauricio didn't know his actions killed Isaiah. During his trial, Torres' children and step children described to the jury what life was like growing up in the Torres household.

    Many gave tearful testimonies that said Mauricio sexually abused them growing up.

    http://www.nwahomepage.com/news/cath...rres/668818513
    "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. #35
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Noooooooooooo!!!!!!

    Bella Vista man convicted of killing son to get new trial, Arkansas Supreme Court rules

    By Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

    BENTONVILLE -- A Bella Vista man convicted and sentenced to death for killing his 6-year-old son will receive a new trial.

    The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday reversed and remanded Mauricio Alejandro Torres' case for a new trial.

    Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren sentenced Torres to death in November 2016.

    The Supreme Court ruled that using previous uncharged allegations of abuse, which the statute of limitations would have since expired, should not have been used as aggravating factors at sentencing.

    A jury found Torres guilty of capital murder and first-degree battery in the death of Maurice Isaiah Torres, who died March 30, 2015, at a Bella Vista hospital.

    A medical examiner testified the boy's death was caused by a bacterial infection as result of being sodomized with a stick. The medical examiner also said chronic child abuse contributed to Isaiah's death.

    The abuse with the stick happened in Missouri, but the boy died in Benton County.

    The jury of seven women and five men recommended a death sentence for capital murder and 20 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine for the battery conviction after deliberating for 2 hours and 20 minutes. The trial lasted five days.

    Mauricio Torres' wife, Cathy, pleaded guilty to capital murder and she was given a life sentence without the benefit of parole.

    https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2019/...ed-murder-ge/?
    "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. #36
    Senior Member Frequent Poster Ted's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Helen View Post
    Noooooooooooo!!!!!!
    My sentiments exactly when the courts rule in favour of any of these murderous scumbuckets
    Violence and death seem to be the only answers that some people understand.

  7. #37
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Juror On Disturbing Torres Trial Speaks Out about Shocking Arkansas Supreme Court Ruling

    By Allie Lynch
    KFSM News

    BENTON COUNTY (KFSM) — A Bella Vista man convicted nearly three years ago of killing his 6-year-old son through rape and abuse will get a new trial. 5NEWS spoke with a juror in his case that says she can't believe the Arkansas Supreme Court's decision to overturn his conviction.

    Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 45, of Bella Vista was arrested in April 2015 in the death of Maurice "Isaiah" Torres, who died March 29 of that year. Mauricio Torres was convicted of capital murder and first-degree battery on Nov. 15, 2016, in Isaiah's death. Torres was sentenced to death.

    The Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that Torres should have his conviction overturned and should receive a new trial on the stipulations that the crime happened while Torres' was camping in Missouri with his family.

    "The vote of one justice invalidated the will of 12 jurors in Benton County and forces the victim's family and the survivors to go through this again, so it's a hard day for them, and it was hard to tell them that, and its just unfortunate," Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith told 5NEWS.

    Kacie Alverson, who was one of the jurors for the case, spoke with 5NEWS about the decision to give Torres the death penalty.

    "We all agreed on it and before we even walked out of the room and give the bailiff and tell them we made a decision. We all sat there and prayed about our decision and I think that speaks volume for itself because a lot of people weren't religious but we all came together and said we need to pray about this decision," Alverson says.

    She says those two weeks sitting in the courtroom, will be two weeks she will remember for the rest of her live.

    "Those pictures are forever engrained in my mind, watching the autopsy and stuff is forever engrained in my mind," she says.

    Even though he's getting a new trial, Nathan Smith is dedicated to making sure Isaiah Torres receives the justice he deserves.

    "We will proceed vigorously. There is no more important case to me, or to this office than the abuse and the murder of a child," Smith said.

    https://5newsonline.com/2019/04/21/j...-court-ruling/
    "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

  8. #38
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Arkansas Court Asked To Reconsider Decision For New Trial In Bella Vista Boy’s Killing

    By AP and 5News Web Staff

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Supreme Court is being asked to reconsider its decision to order a new trial for a death row inmate convicted in the death of his 6-year-old son.

    Attorney General Leslie Rutledge petitioned the court Monday for a rehearing over its decision last month reversing the capital murder conviction of Mauricio Alejandro Torres. Investigators say Torres used a stick to sexually assault the boy while the family was camping in Missouri. A medical examiner blamed the boy's death on a bacterial infection caused by the assault.

    Justices ruled that Arkansas authorities couldn't use rape as a justification for the murder conviction because the assault occurred in Missouri.

    Rutledge's filing said the court erred in its analysis of how the law applies to Torres' case.

    "As Arkansas’s Attorney General, it is my duty to fight for our state’s most vulnerable, especially children like six year old Isaiah Torres. Isaiah was brutally raped and murdered by his father. Today, I filed a petition for rehearing with the Arkansas Supreme Court

    in Torres v. State to seek justice for the innocent child who died at the hands of a monster," Rutledge told 5NEWS.

    https://5newsonline.com/2019/05/06/a...-boys-killing/
    "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. #39
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    State high court decision stands, new trial for child murder case

    By Associated Press

    LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Supreme Court says it won't reconsider its decision to grant a new trial to an inmate who had been convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the killing of his 6-year-old son.

    The justices on Thursday denied Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's petition to reconsider their 4-3 decision last month in the 2016 conviction of Mauricio Alejandro Torres. Investigators say Torres used a stick to sexually assault his son while the family was camping in Missouri. The boy died at an Arkansas hospital a day after the assault.

    The justices denied the request along with the same 4-3 split. They ruled last month that Arkansas authorities couldn't use rape to substantiate the capital murder conviction because the assault occurred in Missouri.

    Rutledge argued that the court erred in its analysis of how the law applied to Torres' case.

    https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/sta...ase/2039434205
    "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

  10. #40
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Torres' trial set for next year

    By Tracy M. Neal
    Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

    BENTONVILLE -- Mauricio Alejandro Torres will have his second capital murder trial early next year.

    Torres made his first court appearance this morning since the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned his case and his death sentence.

    Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren scheduled the jury trial to begin Jan. 21.

    Torres is accused of killing and raping his 6-year-old son.

    The state Supreme Court overturned Torres' murder conviction April 18 in a 4-3 decision.

    Torres argued in his appeal the judge should have ruled the state failed to prove its case for the death sentence. The state Supreme Court agreed, saying prosecutors must prove an element of the rape occurred in Arkansas if the rape is a required element to support the death penalty. Because it happened in Missouri, rape cannot be the aggravating factor behind felony murder, the court said.

    The judge ruled that Torres will be held without bond in the county jail.

    Karren sentenced Torres to death Nov. 14, 2016, on the jury's recommendation. Torres, of Bella Vista, was convicted of capital murder and first-degree battery at the end of a five-day trial.

    The jury found Torres killed 6-year-old Maurice "Isaiah" Torres, who died March 30, 2015, at a Bella Vista medical clinic.

    This morning Karren set Torres' second trial for Jan. 21. An omnibus hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.

    https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2019/...-year-20190621
    "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

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