BENTONVILLE — A January jury trial will not take place for the Bella Vista man accused of killing his 6-year-old son.
Mauricio Alejandro Torres’ jury trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 12. The trial was rescheduled due to the appointment of two new attorneys to represent Mauricio Torres. Jeff Rosenzweig and Bill James replaced attorneys for the Arkansas Public Defenders Commission who had represented Mauricio Torres.
Mauricio Torres, 45, and Cathy Torres , 43, the boy's mother, are charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for both.
Their son was pronounced dead at the hospital March 29. A medical examiner later determined Maurice Isaiah Torres suffered from chronic child abuse, and his death was from internal injuries caused by being raped.
Torres appeared in court Monday afternoon for a hearing in his murder case.
Circuit Judge Brad Karren scheduled jury selection to begin at 8:30 a.m. May 6.
Nathan Smith, Benton County’s prosecuting attorney, told the judge he expects the trial to take at least three weeks.
Rosenzweig told the judge that the previous attorneys had done plenty of work on the case, but they still need to look into Torres’ childhood in Central America. He lived there until he was 11 or 12 years old and then lived in California. Rosenzweig said they also had to look into the time that his client lived in California.
Prosecutors have already decided to try Mauricio Torres first.
Cathy Torres’ jury trial was set to begin Jan. 26. She is scheduled to appear at 2:30 p.m. Monday for a hearing.
Karren discussed the possibility of setting her trial for Aug. 23 while discussing trial dates during Mauricio Torres’ hearing.
The Torreses also were arrested in connection with rape, but prosecutors didn't include that offense in the charging documents. The rape occurred in Missouri, not in Benton County, Smith said.
Smith previously said his office didn't have jurisdiction to charge the couple with rape. The office has jurisdiction in the murder case because the boy died in Benton County, Smith said.
The Torreses are being held without bond in the Benton County Jail.