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Mario Lee Torres, Jayda Capri Ash
Jayda Capri Ash died before seeing her second birthday or her first day of school. Mario Lee Torres now admits her death was his fault.
Torres, 35, pleaded guilty Monday to felony injury to a child.
He conceded prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of the 20-month-old girl's death at trial, and kept his eyes downcast as 181st District Judge John Board handed him a life sentence.
The state's penal code recognizes a life sentence for an injury to a child conviction as 60 years in prison. It also would require Torres to serve at least half of that time before he is eligible to apply for parole, Randall County Criminal District Attorney James Farren said.
Joni Robison, Jayda's mother, had reached an immunity deal with prosecutors and was on their witness list to testify against Torres. Court records show Robison and Torres were married in Potter County on Aug. 19, about a year and a half after Jayda's death. Fucking Cunt!
She did not give a statement. Prosecutors say Torres was alone with Jayda and two other children May 17, 2007, when she was scalded in a tub of water. Robison, 26, was at work.
Jayda was taken from Torres' home on San Antonio Drive to an Amarillo hospital and later was moved to a burn unit in Lubbock. She died three days later. Before Monday's plea, Torres claimed Jayda's death was an accident. Injury to a child carries a sentence of 5 to 99 years. Punishment was enhanced because of Torres' criminal history.
http://www.amarillo.com/stories/050509/new_13329159.shtml