Arkansas man twice convicted of killing son faces 3rd trial

LITTLE ROCK  — The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled that a Bella Vista man who was twice convicted of sexually assaulting and killing his 6-year-old son will face a third trial in the case.

In an opinion released Thursday, it was said that a new jury will hear the case from the beginning, according to KATV content partner 40/29 News. Mauricio Torres was found guilty for the second time in 2020 for killing his son in March of 2015.

A mistrial was declared in the retrial in 2020 when Torres’ stepson lunged at him during the sentencing phase.

Torres was found guilty of capital murder for the first time in November of 2016. He was convicted and sentenced to death for using a stick to sexually assault his son, Isaiah Torres while the family was camping in Missouri.

The Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2019 because the assault occurred in Missouri and Arkansas prosecutors could not use rape as justification for a capital murder charge.

Prosecutors asked the court to let the 2020 jury’s guilty verdict to stand. That would mean a third jury would only have to decide on Torres’ sentence.

The Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas law doesn’t allow for a different jury to decide on a convicted person’s sentence.

Torres’ wife, Cathy Torres, is currently serving a life sentence in Isaiah’s death.