BENTONVILLE -- Maurice Isaiah Torres' older sister described to a jury Thursday the abuse the boy endured before his death.
Mauricio Torres, 45, the boy's father, is charged with capital murder and first-degree battery in the 6-year-old's death. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. Cathy Torres, 44, the boy's mother, is charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. Her trial is scheduled for May.
Isaiah died March 30, 2015, as result of chronic child abuse and from injuries suffered in a rape, a medical examiner said.
The boy's sister, Madison, 9, testified Thursday about the man she sometimes referred to as "Maurice" or "old dad." Madison was adopted after Isaiah's death, and Torres is no longer her last name. Her new surname was not used in court.
Madison testified that while the family was camping in Missouri, Mauricio Torres took Isaiah into the camper because the boy was not working outside. She said Torres abused Isaiah with a stick. The camper door was open and she saw what happened, she said.
There was lots of blood from "the poking," she told jurors.
She testified that she saw Torres spank Isaiah with a stick on other occasions. Her mother also spanked him, with a sandal, she said. She also saw Mauricio Torres hit Isaiah with a cable, she said.
"There would be marks," she said during questioning by Stuart Cearley, chief deputy prosecutor. Isaiah "would be crying, and he would be screaming at times."
Isaiah was forced to sleep in a cage and once had to spend the night in a large trash can in the bathroom, Madison said. She also saw either her mother or her father pour bleach on Isaiah, causing chemical burns that were treated at Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock, she said.
Madison said she, her sister and the boy's parents cried when they learned that Isaiah had died. She said she initially thought he died from a stomachache.
Dr. Stephen Erickson, a medical examiner with the state Crime Laboratory, testified Thursday that a contributing factor in Isaiah's death was prolonged and extensive injuries to his body. The boy's death was caused by trauma to his rectum, which caused fecal peritonitis, he said.
Erickson said Isaiah would have had a chance to survive if he had been medically treated two or three hours after being injured, but he arrived at the hospital about 12 hours after he was injured. Erickson said Isaiah had prolonged and significant injuries to his body, and he did not receive proper medical attention for many of the injuries.
"This is a textbook case of chronic child abuse," Erickson said.
He said Isaiah had old and new bruises on his body from his head down to his legs. Prosecutors showed jurors autopsy photographs as Erickson testified.
"You will never know this child's story unless you look at the photographs," Erickson said. "I could write a 50-page report, and you still wouldn't know his story."
Photographs of Isaiah's body were displayed on two screens in the courtroom. Erickson stood near one screen, and pointed out bruises and injuries on Isaiah's body.
"This child's mouth, nose and chin was subjected to repeated and serious blows," Erickson said.
Isaiah had fresh blunt-force trauma injuries on his head before his death, Erickson said.
When questioned by George Morledge, one of Mauricio Torres' attorneys, Erickson said the injury to the boy's rectum could have occurred if he had been pushed down on an object.
A video played for the jury Wednesday showed Mauricio Torres telling a detective that he put the stick in his son's rectum, but it was Cathy Torres who pushed Isaiah down, making him fall on the stick.
In response to another question from Morledge, Erickson said some of the injuries on Isaiah's head could have been from being struck by a person wearing a ring. Isaiah's older sister testified that Cathy Torres wore a diamond ring.
Prosecutors rested their case after Erickson's testimony.
The trial is to resume Monday. Court will not be held today because of Veterans Day.
State Desk on 11/11/2016