Mauricio Torres guilty in gruesome assault, murder of 6-year-old son
03/05/2020 10:17 am PST
via KFSM:
BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KFSM) -- Mauricio Torres, previously convicted for the rape and murder of his 6-year-old son in 2015, has been found guilty of Capital Murder and First Degree Battery during a retrial.
Torres was arrested in April 2015 in the death of Maurice "Isaiah" Torres, who died earlier that year. 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.
At the end of Torres' first trial, on Nov. 15, 2016, after hearing testimonies from five of his children and step-children, all who accused him of years of sexual and physical abuse, he was convicted of capital murder and first-degree battery, in Isaiah's death. He was sentenced to death.
The Arkansas 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.
Other acts of child abuse the prosecution touched on were Isaiah's teeth being pulled out with pliers, bathed in bleach, being beaten with a stick, and having a stick shoved up his rectum more than once.
His wife, Cathy, who is servicing life in prison for Isaiah's death after taking a plea deal, testified before Torres, stating she never knew the extent of her son's injuries.
At the Benton County Courthouse Thursday morning, March 5, the prosecution was questioning Quentin Martin, Torres' 24-year-old stepson, who is in jail for possession charges. When asked if he was ever sexually assaulted by Torres, Martin jumped up and lunged across the witness stand toward him. The courtroom was evacuated after bailiffs intervened. The sentencing phase was set for Thursday. Torres could be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.
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