Dad pleads guilty to manslaughter after wife allegedly beats daughter to death

WORCESTER, Mass. (TCD) -- A 42-year-old man was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday following a guilty plea in Superior Court.

The Telegram & Gazette reports Mavin Brito pleaded guilty to manslaughter in relation to his daughter’s beating death April 10, 2018. According to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, Brito was initially charged with two counts of reckless endangerment of a child and two counts of permitting substantial injury to a child. His wife, Shana Pedroso, was charged with two counts of assault and battery on a child with injury and two counts of reckless endangerment of a child.

The Telegram & Gazette reports a grand jury charged Pedroso with murder and Brito with manslaughter in September 2018.

Their 9-year-old son reportedly survived the beatings and was adopted by a family member. WBZ-TV reports Brito and Pedrosa super-glued one of their son's wounds and told him not to call 911.

According to the Telegram & Gazette, a prosecutor said in court Thursday that Pedroso would allegedly send Brito to the basement while she beat the children. Brito allegedly had to ask his wife for permission to leave the basement, as well as to shower or use the restroom.

Special prosecutor John Melander Jr. said in court there were "extremely disturbing" photos of the children’s injuries.

He said, "It looks as if they were painted in purple from their shoulders to their knees."

Pedroso was reportedly found hiding in the woods with a journal that allegedly described the how she beat her children.

On April 10, 2018, Brito reportedly called police to say his daughter was not breathing. According to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, the daughter was taken to UMass-Memorial-HealthAlliance, where she was pronounced dead. The son was reported to have "serious injuries."

The Telegram & Gazette reports the girl died from blunt-force trauma and her death was ruled a homicide.

Melander said Brito "listened to his children continually beaten by his wife — their mother — for four years, and did nothing to extricate his children."

According to the Telegram & Gazette, Brito will serve three years of probation after his prison sentence and he will not be allowed to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, including his son.

Pedroso is awaiting trial for the murder charges.

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