Springdale man arrested in infant's death

Edward Alexis Martinez-Torres
Edward Alexis Martinez-Torres

A Springdale man was arrested Thursday in connection with killing a 3-month-old boy, according to the Benton County Sheriff's Office.

Edward Alexis Martinez-Torres, 21, of 1305 Texas Lane, Apt. 106, in Springdale, was arrested in connection with capital murder.

Police went to 2923 Kings Drive in Bethel Heights on June 9 and found the boy unresponsive, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. The boy was taken to Northwest Medical Center and later transferred to Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, where doctors found the boy suffered a skull fracture, the news release stated.

The boy died Wednesday. His head injury was caused from a non-impact “compressive force," according to an autopsy done Thursday by the Arkansas State Medical Examiner.

The Bethel Heights Police Department and the Benton County Sheriff's Office investigated the incident.

Martinez-Torres told investigators he was babysitting the boy while the boy's mother — Martinez-Torres' girlfriend — went to the store, the news release stated.

Martinez-Torres told investigators he could not get the boy to stop crying and, "in a fit of anger," slapped the boy before grabbing him by the forehead, according to the news release. Martinez-Torres then palmed and squeezed the child's forehead while pushing it down into the mattress, according to the news release.

Martinez-Torres said the child appeared to have a seizure and stopped crying. He took the boy and placed him in a bassinet then returned to preparing food in the kitchen.

When the boy's mother returned about 20 minutes later, she asked Martinez-Torres to check on the boy, according to the news release. Martinez-Torres told her the boy wasn't breathing and began performing CPR until medical help arrived, the news release stated.

Initially, Martinez-Torres told investigators the boy's death may have been an accident. Martinez-Torres said he had taken a nap with the boy and his hand may have fallen on the child's head while he was asleep, the news release stated.

Martinez-Torres was being held Friday at the Benton County Jail with no bond set.

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