Update
A jury found Mauricio Torres, 45, guilty of capital murder and first-degree battery in the death of his 6-year-old son.
Torres will face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, which will be decided during the sentencing phase of the trial.
Deliberations took less than an hour. The jury went to lunch before reaching a verdict.
Earlier
BENTONVILLE — A jury began deliberating Monday morning whether a Bella Vista father is guilty of killing his 6-year-old son.
Mauricio Torres, 45, is charged with capital murder and battery in the first degree. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty.
The jury listened to closing statements Monday morning and Circuit Judge Brad Karren sent the panel to begin deliberations shortly before 11 a.m
The jury could find Torres guilty of capital murder or the lesser included of first degree-murder. Torres will only face a death sentence if he’s found guilty of capital murder, which is punishable with a death sentence or life imprisonment without parole.
Torres will face from 10 to 40 years or life imprisonment if the jury finds him guilty of first degree murder.
He’s accused of killing his 6-year-old son, Maurice Isaiah Torres. The boy died March 30, 2015 as result of injuries from being sodomized with a stick.
Nathan Smith, Benton County's prosecuting attorney, showed jurors Isaiah's photograph and told the panel that Isaiah suffered "horrific abuse" at the hands of his father and mother. Smith also showed jurors a 6-pound weight that had Isaiah's blood on it. The 37-pound boy was made to carry the weight as a punishment.
"This rape was a sadistic act of sexual torture," Smith said of Mauricio Torres using the stick on his naked son.
Smith said the evidence demands a guilty verdict.
"I'm going to ask you to do justice for Isaiah Torres," Smith said. "Convict this defendant of the crimes he committed."
One woman on the jury was crying and needed a break right before Smith was going to give his final remarks to the jurors.
"The crimes this man committed against Isaiah Torres was savage and horrific," Smith said. "It is capital murder."
Bill James, one of Torres' attorneys, said there's no evidence that there's sexual gratification involved in the case.
"This is not a rape case," James told jurors. "There's no proof of that."
James told jurors that the medical examiner testified that there were no ligature marks on Isaiah's body. Isaiah's sister testified that she had seen her brother naked and tied up in the bathroom.
"How many lies are you going to accept to give the prosecutor what he want?" James asked jurors.
James said Mauricio Torres admitted he had used the stick more that one time and he had no idea that the act would kill his son. Mauricio Torres performed CPR on his son and had 911 called to seek medical assistance to aid Isaiah, James said.
Three of Mauricio Torres' other children were present in court before the attorneys gave their closing states. The three are scheduled to be witnesses during a sentencing phase of the proceedings if Torres is found guilty.
Cathy Torres, 44, is also charged with capital murder and battery in the first degree. Her trial will be May 2017.