$500,000 bond for Springdale man accused of killing infant

Edward Alexis Martinez-Torres
Edward Alexis Martinez-Torres

BENTONVILLE — A Springdale man accused of killing a 3-month-old boy had his bond set at $500,000 Monday at his first court appearance.

Edward Alexis Martinez-Torres, 21, was arrested Friday in connection with capital murder in the boy's death. He was in court Monday for a bond hearing before Circuit Judge Robin Green.

On June 9, Bethel Heights police and medical personnel went to 2923 Kings Drive in response to a 911 call concerning a 3-month-old child not breathing, according to a news release from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office issued last week.

The child was taken to Northwest Medical Center and later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. While the child was being treated at Children’s Hospital it was discovered that he suffered a skull fracture.

Detectives with the sheriff’s office were informed June 15 that the child had died. An autopsy was conducted by a medical examiner who discovered that the skull fracture was caused by "compressive-force."

A criminal investigation was launched by the Bethel Heights Police Department and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. Initial interviews were conducted with the child's mother and her boyfriend, Martinez-Torres.

Martinez-Torres told investigators he laid down to take a nap with the child and that his hand may have fallen on the child’s head while he was asleep, but if it did it was an accident, according to the news release.

He later 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, the news release stated.

Martinez-Torres is not the child's father.

Jay Saxton, chief public defender for Benton County, represented Martinez-Torres at the bond hearing. Saxton told the judge that Martinez-Torres has prior misdemeanor convictions for domestic battery and failure to appear.

Martinez-Torres’ arraignment is scheduled for 8 a.m. July 18.

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