Friday, May 29, 2009

Man charged with beating toddler to death


VISTA, Calif., May 28 (UPI) -- A Guatemalan immigrant went on trial this week, charged with fatally beating his girlfriend's son when the toddler began crying while he was trying to sleep.

Jose Maurice Castenada could face the death penalty if he is convicted of the murder of Cesar Razo, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Thursday.

During opening statements Wednesday, a prosecutor described Castenada as a brutal man who often assaulted Maria Razo and her children. Lucy Weismantel said the attack on Cesar, 2, in 2005 was carried out in front of the boy's mother and sister.

"This child was beaten, kicked, bitten, strangled and whipped at the hands of the defendant," she said.

Allen Bloom, Castenada's lawyer, argued that Razo was the real killer. She pleaded guilty in 2007 to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse and agreed to testify against Castenada

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