BENTON COUNTY (KFSM) — The jury began deliberating the capital murder case against Mauricio Torres Monday morning (Nov. 14).
Torres and his wife, Cathy, are accused of killing their six-year-old son, Maurice Isaiah Torres, who went by Isaiah, in March 2015.
WARNING: The details of this case could be disturbing to some readers
The trial resumed at 8:30 a.m. following a long weekend that included Veterans Day. The defense rested its case before 9 a.m. without calling any witnesses. The prosecution and defense then each gave a closing statement.
The prosecution argued Torres killed his son after he put a stick in his rectum, which led to internal injuries that led to sepsis.
In his closing statement, Prosecutor Nathan Smith showed the jury a photo taken by one Isaiah’s teachers of the bruises she found on the child while he was attending kindergarten. He also showed photos of a 15 pound weight found at the Torres’ home with Isaiah’s blood on it, as well as a wall inside the home covered in the boy’s blood.
Smith told the jury, the evidence points to Torres at the very least being an accomplice to the murder and mentioned the many times Torres told investigators in taped interviews watched by the jury that he and his wife were equally guilty. He also said Torres got sexual gratification from humiliating his son.
At the bare minimum, Smith said, Torres did not stop what was happening to Isaiah and asked the jury to give the boy justice.
To read more about the prosecution’s case, click here.
The defensed has argued none of Torres’ action were sexual in nature and he did not know his son would die from having a stick put in his rectum.
In his closing statement, attorney Bill James told the jury anything Torres did to Isaiah was a form of punishment not a sexually deviant act. He also recalled Isaiah’s sister’s testimony in which she said the boy was forced to sleep in a cage and eat his father’s feces. James said there was no proof any of that happened.
He ended his statement by telling the jury this is not a capital murder case because Torres did not want his son to die and asked them to stand up for the law.
Torres is facing charges of capital murder and first-degree battery. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty if he is convicted.
Cathy Torres is facing the same charges. Her trial is scheduled for May 2017.
