Mauricio Torres: Arkansas father faces third trial over rape and death of son, 6, despite two guilty verdicts
In 2015, Mauricio Torres, 50, allegedly sexually abused his 6-year-old son, Isaiah, with a stick and who later died from the injuries from the assault. Torres allegedly raped his son because he ate a piece of cake while they were camping in Missouri without taking his permission, as per reports. The accused's first conviction was overturned and the second was deemed a mistrial, and now he is set to face a third trial. In the year 2016, Torres was first convicted of capital murder and battery, but the ruling was thrown out by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
According to reports, this was done because it was argued that the "rape could not be used as justification for the murder conviction." He was convicted again in March of 2020, but that was deemed a mistrial as Quinten Martin, Torres' stepson, had tried to attack him in court after jumping from the witness box.
This was later appealed by the state's Attorney General's office, which said that the 2020 verdict of guilty should hold water, and the accused's punishment could be decided by another (third) jury. In Torres' case, the prosecution is pushing full force for the death penalty. Unfortunately, the appeal was rejected by the Arkansas Supreme Court, and on Thursday, a new trial was ordered.
RELATED ARTICLES
Arkansas father who killed son by raping him with stick gets attacked by stepson in court, granted mistrial
Arkansas boy, 6, dies of infection after being raped by father with a stick for eating cake without permission
Lawyers fight for proper justice
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said, "Mauricio Torres has been convicted twice of the brutal murder of his son, but this decision means Isaiah's loved ones and the entire community will have to endure a third devastating trial. I will do everything in my power to bring justice for Isaiah." The Daily Mail reported that senior assistant attorney general, Veda Berger, had told the Supreme Court that Judge Brad Karren had made a "mistake" when deeming Torre's second trial a mistrial during the "guilty phase" due to an incident that had happened during sentencing.
When Martin was testifying against his step-father in March of 2020 about the physical abuse he was subjected to by Torres, he jumped from the witness stand and ran towards Torres and his lawyers. It was after this that Jeff Rosenzweig, Torres' lawyer, had asked the judge for a mistrial ruling, stating that the jurors had seen something that "cannot be unseen." Karren had only granted the mistrial after reviewing surveillance video which showed the "shock on the jurors" face when Martin had run to attack Torres.
Isaiah died a day after the sexual assault at a hospital in Arkansas. According to reports, attorneys working in Torres' defense have claimed that their client did not know that the insertion of the stick into the 6-year-old's rectum could have killed him. As per a medical examiner, Isaiah's cause of death was a bacterial infection caused by the sodomy and "chronic child abuse." As of now, Torres is at Benton County Jail without bail and will participate in a hearing on March 12, 2021. Reports also indicate that Cathy, the wife of the accused, is in jail serving life in prison after she pled guilty in 2017 to capital murder for Isaiah's death - she had testified against Torres and was sentenced to life without parole.