BENTONVILLE -- Opening statements will begin today in the murder case of a Bella Vista father accused of killing his 6-year-old son.
About the case
Nathan Smith, Benton County prosecuting attorney, and deputies Stuart Cearley and Carly Marshall will prosecute the case. Mauricio Alejandro Torres’ attorneys are Jeff Rosenzweig, Bill James and George Morledge.
Source: Staff report
Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 45, is charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. He has pleaded innocent to the charges. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
The trial will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren's courtroom. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
Jury selection ended Monday after two alternate jurors were picked -- a woman and a man.
Seven women and five men were selected last week to serve on the jury. A man also was selected last week to serve as an alternate juror. It took five days to select the jury.
Karren warned jurors to avoid any media coverage of the trial. He ordered jurors not to post any information about the trial on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media site.
"Don't get on Facebook and say you have been selected," Karren said.
He also warned jurors not to do any kind of research on the case.
Karren presided over a hearing Monday concerning redactions to police interviews of Torres. Defense attorneys previously filed a motion to suppress the statements, but Karren denied the motion.
Karren closed the court to the media and public for the suppression hearing. He also closed Monday's hearings to the media and public. A reporter for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette objected to closing the hearing because Karren already had warned jurors to avoid media coverage of the trial.
Maurice Isaiah Torres was pronounced dead at an area hospital March 29, 2015. A medical examiner determined he suffered chronic child abuse and his death was from internal injuries caused by rape, according to court documents.
The autopsy also found there were multiple healing and healed wounds and blunt force trauma to the child's head and other parts of his body, according to the probable-cause affidavit.
Torres also was arrested in the rape, but prosecutors didn't file a formal charge against him because they said the rape happened in Missouri.
Torres' wife, Cathy, also is charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. She pleaded innocent to the charges. Her trial is to begin May 5.
Mauricio and Cathy Torres, 45, are being held in the Benton County jail without bail.
If convicted of capital murder, the Torreses could each be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment without parole. They could each be sentenced from five to 20 years in prison if convicted of the battery charge.
State Desk on 11/08/2016