Man Convicted of Girlfriend's Baby’s Death Exonerated 26 Years Later After Experts Conclude She Died from Pneumonia

[Sugar Cookie]

A man convicted of first-degree murder in his then-girlfriend's infant child has been exonerated 26 years later.

Stephen Martinez of Denver was convicted of the death of baby Heather Mares in 2000, 9News and CBS News reported, citing court documents and an arrest affidavit. Martinez had called 911 on Oct. 17, 1998, telling emergency services that Heather was choking. When officers arrived, they discovered the child had a skull fracture. Bloodied sheets were also found in the washing machine.

Martinez told investigators that he had shaken the baby as she cried and had hit her head against the crib, though he asserted that this was an accident at the time, court documents said, per 9News.

Following his conviction, Martinez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On Tuesday, April 21, Denver Judge Andrew Luxen overturned Martinez's conviction amid new evidence brought to the court by the Korey Wise Innocence Project, which suggested the baby had instead died from complications of pneumonia, the Associated Press reported.

The judge also ordered Martinez's release from prison.

In 2000, a then-new Colorado statute permitted the court to charge Martinez with first-degree murder instead of the lesser charge of child abuse resulting in death, per the AP.

Mares' family, including her parents, Kim Estrada and Chris Mares, continue to believe that Martinez killed Heather and did not show remorse, according to the AP. However, Judge Luxen dismissed their objections.

“My life was stopped 27 years ago along with our family's,” Estrada said through tears following the judge's decision, according to AP.

Continue reading

https://people.com/man-convicted-of-girlfriend-baby-death-exonerated-26-years-later-after-experts-conclude-she-died-f

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Heather was adorable!

 

[Blizzard]

ehhh

Yeah because, you know. Babies break their skulls when they get even a hint of pneumonia. I heard they launch right out of the crib head-first into the nearest solid object. Can't blame Stephen Martinez for that!