BENTONVILLE — Cathy Lynn Torres will spend the rest of her life in prison for her role in the death of her 6-year-old son.
Maurice Isaiah Torres died March 30, 2015, at a Bella Vista hospital. A medical examiner said the boy’s death was caused by a bacterial infection as a result of being sodomized with a stick. The medical examiner also said chronic child abuse contributed to his death.
Torres, 45, of Bella Vista pleaded guilty Wednesday to capital murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. She also was sentenced to 20 years for first-degree battery.
Torres declined to speak when Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren gave her the opportunity. She looked down throughout much of the short hearing.
Mauricio Torres, Cathy Torres’ husband and the boy’s father, was sentenced to death in November after a jury found him guilty of capital murder and first-degree battery.
The couple lived with Isaiah and his two sisters, who were adopted into new families after their parents’ arrest.
Cathy Torres admitted that she hit Isaiah and that she knew the boy suffered from chronic physical abuse at the hands of his father, said Nathan Smith, Benton County’s prosecuting attorney, in his case summary. Cathy Torres failed to protect Isaiah by not taking action to prevent the abuse, Smith said.
Injuries caused by the physical abuse were significant contributing factors to the boy’s death, Smith said.
The boy had an object forcefully inserted into his rectum by his father that caused internal injuries that led to death, Smith said.
“While Cathy Torres did not participate in this event, she knew that Isaiah had suffered life-threatening injuries caused by his father,” Smith said. “In the hours immediately following this incident, Cathy consciously disregarded the injuries to her son Isaiah by failing to seek out and obtain adequate medical treatment for those injuries.”
Tony Pirani, one of Cathy Torres’ defense attorneys, said the case was difficult for her and all those involved.
“This is an outcome that we think is appropriate in this case, and Cathy Torres regrets what happened to her son. It’s been an extraordinary, difficult case, and we are now very relieved that this matter is now over,” Pirani said.
Torres pleaded guilty under an agreement Pirani and Jay Saxton, her other attorney, reached with Smith, who agreed to waive the death penalty. Torres’ jury trial was scheduled to begin May 5.
A jury last year watched and listened to a video recording of Mauricio Torres confessing to Bella Vista police Capt. Tim Cook that he put a stick in his son’s rectum and then blamed Cathy Torres for shoving the boy down on the stick.
Bella Vista Police Chief Ken Farmer was in court Wednesday for the plea hearing.
“We are pleased with the plea this afternoon and the outcome of the case,” Farmer said. “It was a good resolution for everyone involved in the case and justice was done.”
The plea agreement has the support of law enforcement officials and the children of Mauricio and Cathy Torres, Smith said. Some of the children testified at Mauricio Torres’ trial, and Smith said they were anxious to avoid another trial.
“By bringing this horrific case to a close, my hope is that Isaiah’s siblings can begin to cope with both their brother’s murder as well as their own abuse,” Smith said. “I hope that the community will join me in praying for Isaiah’s brothers and sisters who not only survived their own abuse but also found the courage to fight for justice for their brother.”