BENTONVILLE -- A third murder trial has been scheduled for Aug. 24 for the Bella Vista man accused of killing his 6-year-old son, according to an order filed Wednesday.
Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 50, is charged with capital murder and battery. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren also set a pretrial hearing for Aug. 7.
Maurice Isaiah Torres died March 30, 2015, at a Bella Vista medical clinic. A medical examiner testified at two trials that the child's death was caused by a bacterial infection resulting from sodomy and chronic child abuse.
Mauricio Torres has twice been convicted of murder and battery.
He was tried and convicted in 2016 and was sentenced to death, but last year the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned the conviction and ordered that Torres be given a new trial.
A second jury convicted Torres of the same charges. However, Karren declared a mistrial during the sentencing phase after a witness tried to attack Torres in the courtroom while the jury was present.
Torres testified at his second trial and admitted to abusing his son, but he said his wife was responsible for most of the abuse.
He is being held in lieu of bond in the Benton County jail.
Cathy Torres, Mauricio Torres' wife, pleaded guilty in 2016 to capital murder and battery and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. She testified during Torres' second trial and blamed her husband for abusing their son.
Metro on 03/26/2020