BENTONVILLE — Mauricio Alejandro Torres will have his second capital murder trial early next year.
A jury in 2016 convicted Torres of murder and first-degree battery in the death of his 6-year-old son, Maurice “Isaiah” Torres, who died March 30, 2015, at a Bella Vista medical clinic.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren sentenced Torres to death on the jury’s recommendation
Torres made his first court appearance Friday since the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned his case and his death sentence.
Karren scheduled the jury trial to begin Jan. 21.
The state Supreme Court overturned Torres’ murder conviction April 18 in a 4-3 decision based on where elements of the crime occurred.
Torres argued in his appeal the judge should have ruled the state failed to prove its case for the death sentence. The state Supreme Court agreed, saying prosecutors must prove an element of the rape occurred in Arkansas if the rape is a required element to support the death penalty.
A medical examiner testified in the 2016 trial the boy’s death was caused by a bacterial infection, the result of being sodomized with a stick. The abuse with the stick occurred in Missouri, but Isaiah died in Benton County.
The court said because the abuse happened in Missouri, rape cannot be the aggravating factor behind felony murder.
Torres was scheduled to appear today for his arraignment, but Jeff Rosenzweig, one of his attorneys, said his client had already pleaded not guilty to capital murder and the case is now in the same position as it was before the start of the 2016 trial.
Nathan Smith, Benton County’s prosecuting attorney, said he will amend the capital murder charges under the theory he knowingly killed a child. Torres will also be retried on the first-degree battery charge.
The judge ruled that Torres will be held without bond in the county jail.
An omnibus hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.
Mauricio Torres’ wife, Cathy, pleaded guilty to capital murder and was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Torres faces life in prison or a death sentence if convicted of capital murder. He faces from five to 20 years in prison if convicted of the battery charge.
This story was updated at 1:39 p.m. with additional details