BENTONVILLE -- The man who should have protected him killed 6-year-old Maurice Isaiah Torres, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Nathan Smith told jurors Thursday morning in his opening statement.
Mauricio Alejandro Torres, 53, of Bella Vista is charged with capital murder and battery in his son's death. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
If convicted of capital murder, Torres will be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Smith referred to the boy as Isaiah instead of using his first name. Isaiah died March 30, 2015.
Torres is accused of shoving a stick in his son's rectum, causing an infection that led to the boy's death.
"This is the tragic story of Isaiah Torres," Smith said. "A 6-year-old boy who died at the hands of the man who should have been his protector."
Smith said Isaiah suffered from incredible crimes at the hands of his parents-- Mauricio Torres and Cathy Torres. The abuse was so severe that chronic child abuse is listed as a factor in Isaiah's death, he said. He told the jury the evidence they will hear is ugly and grotesque.
Isaiah went on a camping trip with his parents and two sisters, Smith said. Mauricio Torres took his son in the camper and had him disrobe and then pushed a stick in the boy's rectum and punctured the lining. The injury led to the infection that caused Isaiah's death, Smith said.
"He is the one that inflicted the abuse, the torture and murder on his son," Smith said.
Both Mauricio Torres and Cathy Torres bear criminal responsibility for their son's death, Smith said. Cathy Torres pleaded guilty to capital murder and battery and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Smith told jurors they will hear testimony concerning Isaiah's abuse and will watch Torres' interviews with police. Prosecutors will also read Torres' previous testimony to the jury.
Bill James, one of Torres' attorneys, also described the evidence in the case as ugly. He urged jurors not to let the emotion take over and simply find someone guilty of capital murder.
He pointed the finger at Cathy Torres as the person who is responsible for Isaiah's injuries.
James told the jury they will hear from Cathy Torres and his client.
James said his client didn't respect himself and there's probably no one more racist against Hispanics than Mauricio Torres.
"He thought Cathy was the gateway to respect since she was a white woman." James said.
Cathy Torres was the controlling figure in the relationship with her husband, he said. Mauricio Torres may be guilty of battery, but not capital murder.
Torres, who is being held without bond in the Benton County jail, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death in 2016 in his son's murder, but the state Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2019 and ordered Torres be given a new trial.
A second jury found Torres guilty of murder and battery. The proceedings ended during the sentencing phase March 5, 2020, when a witness jumped from the witness stand box and attempted to attack Torres. Circuit Judge Brad Karren declared a mistrial and ruled Torres should have another trial.
The Arkansas attorney general's office appealed, but the Arkansas Supreme Court agreed with Karren.
Peri Heffernan of Bella Vista, was the first witness to testify. She was Isaiah's kindergarten teacher at Ambassador for Christ Academy. She remembered him as being happy to learn, but also recalled his demeanor changing. She said Isaiah started getting combative and angry.
Isaiah got in trouble for stealing other children's snacks and even took food from the garbage, she said.
She testified about Isaiah coming to school with bruises and cuts. "It just seem like they were never healing." Heffernan said. "They were just always there."
Heffernan said she once rubbed Isaiah's back to calm him and she saw a large bruise on his back. She said she started taking notes and took photographs of Isaiah.
Brynna Barnica, deputy prosecutor, showed Heffernan the photographs of Isaiah and introduced the images as evidence in the trial.
George Morledge, another one of Torres' attorneys, showed Heffernan her previous testimony, noting she didn't mention Isaiah taking food from the garbage.
She told Morledge she would have reported the abuse if Isaiah had told him his parents were causing the injuries.
Hannah Paul was a music teacher at Ambassador's for Christ. She taught Isaiah and said he started having mood changes and became withdrawn. Paul said Isaiah would sometime take other children's food and hide it. She said he once took food and wanted to eat it in the restroom.
Paul testified Isaiah came to school with bruises. He never told her where the bruise came from, she said. She started documenting the incidents, and she knew Heffernan had reported the incidents to Arkansas Department of Human Services. Paul said no one from the agency nor law enforcement contacted her about Isaiah's injuries.
The jury also listened to the 911 call where Cathy Torres reported her son was not breathing. She said in the call Isaiah had complained earlier about his stomach hurting.
She could be heard calling out "Isaiah" and she told the dispatcher she was shaking her son and he would not respond.