BENTONVILLE -- A notice of appeal was filed last week on behalf of the Bella Vista father who was sentenced to death for killing his 6-year-old son.
Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 45, was found guilty of capital murder and first-degree battery. A jury recommended last month that Torres die by lethal injection, and Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren sentenced Torres to death. Torres is being held on death row at Varner Supermax in Gould.
Karren is required to schedule an execution date, which he ordered to be Nov. 15, 2017. The date will be set aside because the appeal was lodged. Automatic appeals are filed in death penalty cases. The notice of appeal was filed Friday in the Benton County Circuit Clerk's Office.
Maurice Isaiah Torres, 6, died March 30, 2015, at a Bella Vista hospital. A medical examiner said the boy's death was caused by a bacterial infection as a result of being sodomized with a stick. The medical examiner also said chronic child abuse contributed to the child's death.
The jury watched and listened to a video recording of Mauricio Torres confessing to putting a stick in his son's rectum to Bella Vista police Capt. Tim Cook.
An older sister of Maurice Torres testified at trial and described several instances where Mauricio Torres abused her brother.
Mauricio Torres' wife, Cathy, also is charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against her. Her trial is scheduled for May. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Cathy Torres, 45, is being held without bond in the Benton County Jail.
General News on 12/14/2016