BENTONVILLE -- A Bella Vista woman accused of killing her son last year will go on trial in May.
Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 46, and Cathy Lynn Torres, 45, are charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. They will be tried separately.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren on Tuesday scheduled Cathy Torres' jury trial to begin May 5. Her trial was set to begin Nov. 1, but her husband's trial is now scheduled to start that day. Prosecutors want to try Mauricio Torres first.
A pretrial hearing for Cathy Torres is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 16.
The couple is accused of killing their son Maurice Isaiah Torres, 6.
The boy 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.
The Torreses are being held without bond in the Benton County Jail. They could be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty if convicted of capital murder. They face from five to 20 years if convicted of first-degree battery.
NW News on 10/12/2016