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Thread: Joshua Molina Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 ID Murder of Lyryk Altom

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    Senior Member CnCP Legend CharlesMartel's Avatar
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    Joshua Molina Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 ID Murder of Lyryk Altom




    Jerome man pleads not guilty to murder of girlfriend's baby

    BY GRETEL KAUFFMAN
    Twin Falls Times-News

    TWIN FALLS — A Jerome man accused of abusing and killing his girlfriend’s infant daughter has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Joshua Molina, 33, was indicted by a grand jury in May on one count of first degree murder and four counts of injury to a child. He entered a plea of not guilty Monday.

    Molina was arrested in March, five months after 20-month-old Lyryk Altom died. The baby was taken to St. Luke’s Magic Valley with bleeding in her brain on Oct. 8 and flown to Boise, where she died six days later. A doctor at St. Luke’s told police he believed her head injuries were caused by non-accidental blunt force trauma.

    Lyryk’s mother, Amanda Dunlap, was charged shortly after her daughter’s death with one count of first-degree murder, eight felony counts of injury to a child and one misdemeanor count of injury to a child. She was arraigned in district court in July and will appear at a status conference on Sept. 17.

    At the time of Lyryk’s death, Molina told police he was not really involved in the baby’s medical care, a claim that Dunlap initially agreed with. But in later interviews, she said she had lied about Molina’s level of involvement.

    Photos and text messages reviewed by police suggest that Molina may have physically abused the infant over several months leading up to her death, according to court documents.

    Dunlap told police that Molina wouldn’t let her take Lyryk to see a doctor after she had a seizure on Oct. 8 because he had been blowing marijuana in the baby’s face to alleviate her symptoms, according to a police affidavit. Dunlap said Molina was afraid that if Lyryk tested positive for marijuana, he would have his son taken away from him.

    https://magicvalley.com/news/local/c...7b012f601.html
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    Administrator Heidi's Avatar
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    Trial date set for boyfriend in baby murder case

    A Jerome man accused of killing his girlfriend's baby is set to face a jury in June.

    A trial for Joshua Molina is scheduled to start June 17, the court determined Monday. Attorneys said they expect the trial to last two weeks.

    Molina is charged with first-degree murder and four felony counts of injury to a child in connection with the October 2017 death of 20-month-old Lyryk Altom, the daughter of Molina's girlfriend at the time. He is accused of repeatedly abusing and ultimately killing the Twin Falls infant.

    The state considered but decided against pursuing the death penalty in the case. The decision came after an "exhaustive review" of the record, case, and evidence, prosecuting attorney Grant Loebs said.

    Lyryk was taken to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center with bleeding in her brain on Oct. 8, 2017, and then was flown to a Boise hospital, where she died six days later. A doctor at St. Luke’s told police he believed her head injuries were caused by non-accidental blunt force trauma.

    Lyryk’s mother, Amanda Dunlap, was charged shortly after her daughter’s death with one count of first-degree murder, eight felony counts of injury to a child and one misdemeanor count of injury to a child. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges; a trial date for her has not been set.

    At the time of Lyryk’s death, Molina told police he was not really involved in the baby’s medical care, a claim that Dunlap initially agreed with. But in later interviews, she said she had lied about Molina’s level of involvement.

    Photos and text messages reviewed by police suggest that Molina may have physically abused the infant over several months leading up to her death, according to court documents.

    Dunlap told police that Molina wouldn’t let her take Lyryk to see a doctor after she had a seizure because he had been blowing marijuana in the baby’s face to alleviate her symptoms, according to a police affidavit. Dunlap said Molina was afraid that his son would be taken away from him if Lyryk tested positive for marijuana.

    A friend picked up Dunlap and Lyryk later that day and took them to the emergency room, she said.

    Molina was arrested in March, five months after Lyryk’s death. A grand jury indicted Molina in May, describing the alleged crime as "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, manifesting exceptional depravity."

    A status conference for Dunlap is scheduled for Jan. 7

    https://magicvalley.com/news/local/c...2a3c779b8.html
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    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    June 28, 2019

    Trial date set for man charged in baby's death

    By Julie A. Ferraro
    magicvalley.com

    TWIN FALLS — The trial for a man charged with multiple felonies in the death of his girlfriend’s baby has been moved to 2020.

    Joshua Molina, 35, appeared with his defense attorney, Steven McRae, before Judge Benjamin Cluff at the Theron Ward Judicial Building on Friday afternoon.

    Molina is charged with first-degree murder and four counts of injury to a child in the death of 20-month-old Lyryk Altom in October 2017.

    Lyryk was taken to St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center with bleeding in her brain on Oct. 8, 2017, and then was flown to a Boise hospital, where she died six days later. A doctor at St. Luke’s told police he believed her head injuries were caused by non-accidental blunt force trauma.

    The girl’s mother, Amanda Dunlap, is also charged with murder and multiple counts of felony injury to a child. Her next court hearing is July 2.

    Molina’s status conference was meant to determine what dates expert witnesses for both the prosecution and defense would be available to testify.

    Both sides agreed that February 2020 was the first time those witnesses could be scheduled.

    The trial, which is expected to last nine days, was placed on the court calendar for February 25. A pretrial conference is set for February 10.

    Molina remains in custody at the Twin Falls County Jail.

    https://magicvalley.com/news/local/c...1d8bc095a.html
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  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend JLR's Avatar
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    UPDATE: Twin Falls prosecutor pursues re-trial following recent hung jury

    The Twin Falls prosecutor says he will continue to pursue the case against Joshua Molina after a hung jury verdict.

    Molina was initially charged with four counts of felony injury to a child and one count of first degree murder of his then girlfriend's 20-month year-old daughter Lyryk Altom.

    After two weeks in court, the jury found him guilty of two counts of injury to a child, one of which was lowered to a misdemeanor charge.

    The jury was in deliberation for three days and were unable to decide on the rest of Molina's charges, making it a hung jury.

    Tuesday the Twin Falls prosecutor Grant Loebs tells KMVT that it was without question whether or not they would try again and "I hope we can get all 12 jurors next time."

    Molina will not be sentenced until his re-trial and Amanda Dunlap will not go to trial until Molina is through with his trial.

    UPDATE 3/8
    The jury has returned their verdict in the trial of a Twin Falls man accused of murder in the death of his then girlfriend's 20 month old daughter.


    About 2:30 P.M. Sunday, the jury announced they found Joshua Molina guilty on one count of felony injury to a child, another count was changed to a misdemeanor, and Molina was also found guilty of that.
    The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the two other charges of felony injury to a child, as well as the first degree murder charge.

    Twin Falls County prosecutor Grant Loebs will decide whether or not to bring in another jury in hopes of reaching a verdict on the remaining charges.

    There is no word yet when sentencing will be.

    KMVT will update the story as more information becomes available.

    UPDATE: (3/7)

    The jury is still out on the verdict of Joshua Molina vs the State of Idaho in an infant murder case.

    In March of 2018 Molina was accused of the murder of his girlfriend's 20 month year old child Lyrk Altom. He faces four charges of felony injury to a child and one charge of first degree murder

    A jury was selected for his trial on February 25 and KMVT has been in courtroom last week and this week following this case.

    Friday the jury was sent into deliberation at around 2:00 P.M. They deliberated more on Saturday and have not come to a ruling. Now they will be back deliberation Sunday. KMVT will continue to update this story as soon a verdict is reached.

    ORIGINAL: (3/6)

    Closing arguments for the Twin Falls man accused of the murder of his girlfriends 20 month year old daughter took place Friday morning and into the afternoon.

    Joshua Molina faces four counts of felony injury to a child and one count of the first degree murder of Lyrk Altom.

    The Twin Falls county prosecutor Grant Loebs presented to the jury that all the evidence that has been brought before them over the past two weeks points to Molina being guilty on all charges. He did this while urging them to use common sense when deliberating this complex case.

    The defense on the other hand argued that the officers who conducted this investigation had painted a target on the back of Molina, saying that an effort was not made investigate anyone else.

    "Take everything I say, or Mr, Loebs has said, and what the state is about to say with a grain of salt, and consider everything. I believe that when you do, you will see that there is absolute reasonable doubt to believe that Mr. Molina committed any of these crimes," said defense attorney Steven Rey McRae.

    The jury was dismissed to deliberate this Friday afternoon at around 2:00 p.m. The judge is expected to call them back in at around 5:00 p.m. today to hear if they have a verdict. KMVT will update this story as soon as that verdict is reached.

    https://www.kmvt.com/content/news/Cl...568571211.html

  5. #5
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    August 31, 2022

    Southern Idaho man receives a life-sentence for 2017 death of a child

    Molina had been found guilty back in June of first-degree murder.

    KMVT/KSVT

    TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — On Monday, Joshua Molina learned his fate in a Twin Falls courtroom.

    He had been found guilty back in June of first-degree murder, and four counts of injury to a child, in connection with the death of a child in 2017.

    On the four counts of injury to a child he was sentenced to 30 years and six months.

    On the charge of murder in the first-degree, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    The judge granted him the maximum sentence on every single charge.

    He is now at the Idaho State Penitentiary.

    https://www.kmvt.com/2022/08/30/sout...7-death-child/

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