BENTONVILLE -- The January trial for a Bella Vista man accused of killing his 6-year-old son was pushed further into next year on Monday.
Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 45, and Cathy Torres, 43, the boy's mother, are charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. They have pleaded not guilty to all charges. They are being held without bail in the Benton County jail. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for both.
Maurice Isaiah Torres was pronounced dead at the hospital March 29. A medical examiner later determined the boy suffered from chronic child abuse, and his death was from internal injuries caused by being raped.
Mauricio Torres' jury trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 12 but was rescheduled because two new attorneys have been appointed to represent him. Jeff Rosenzweig and Bill James, both of Little Rock, replaced attorneys from the Arkansas Public Defenders Commission.
Torres appeared in court Monday for a hearing in his case. Rosenzweig was present, but James was not.
Circuit Judge Brad Karren of Bentonville scheduled jury selection to begin May 6.
Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecuting attorney, told Karren he expects the trial to take at least three weeks.
Rosenzweig told Karren the prior defense attorneys had done plenty of work on the case, but the new team needs to look into Torres' childhood in Central America. He lived there until he was 11 or 12 years old. He then lived in California, and Rosenzweig said the defense also wants to look into Torres' time there.
Cathy Torres' jury trial that was set for Jan. 26 also was rescheduled Monday.
Karren set jury selection to begin in her case Aug. 22. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 14.
The Torreses also were arrested in connection with rape, but prosecutors didn't include that offense in the charging documents. The rape occurred in Missouri, not in Benton County, Smith said.
Smith previously said his office didn't have jurisdiction to charge the couple with rape. The office has jurisdiction in the murder case because the boy died in Benton County, Smith said.
Metro on 11/18/2015