An Arizona man, Brandon Andres Bautista Torres, has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2019 killings of his girlfriend, Selina Toyos, and her 4-year-old daughter, Aleena Bermudez. The tragic crime occurred in front of their 1-year-old son, and Torres was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to first-degree premeditated murder and reckless manslaughter.
The horrific event took place on June 30, 2019, when Torres called the police, claiming a homeless intruder had broken into their home, shot Toyos and her daughter, and that he fled the scene with his son. However, further investigation revealed Torres gave multiple versions of the events. He initially told his parents he was dropping off his son before heading to the movies with Toyos and Bermudez. Later, he claimed to have struggled with the intruder, resulting in the fatal shots.
The police discovered Torres had failed to contact authorities for three hours after the shooting, explaining that he feared the intruder would return with reinforcements and that he was worried about being blamed, especially because of his Hispanic background.
As the investigation progressed, authorities uncovered a history of domestic violence between Torres and Toyos, including an incident where he had threatened her with a gun. This history led to Torres being charged with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder, although he eventually pleaded guilty to one count of murder and one of reckless manslaughter.
In his sentencing, Maricopa County District Attorney Rachel Mitchell described Torres’ actions as “horrific and cowardly,” stating that the crime had taken two innocent lives. Torres was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge, with an additional 15 years for the manslaughter charge.
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