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Espa帽ola man gets 35 years in the beating death of his 5-year-old stepdaughter
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Four years of pent-up emotions spilled over Monday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, where an Espa帽ola man was sentenced to 35 years in prison in the 2019 beating death of his 5-year-old stepdaughter.
The disappearance of Renezmae Calzada led to a massive search that ended three days later when the girl鈥檚 52-pound body was found in the Rio Grande on Santa Clara Pueblo.
Malcolm Torres, 30, pleaded guilty in April to severely beating the girl on Sept. 7, 2019, while he was the sole adult caring for his stepdaughter and his 18-month-old son at his home on Santa Clara Pueblo.
Family members told Torres during a nearly two-hour sentencing hearing that Renezmae鈥檚 younger brother was forever scarred by witnessing the fatal beating of his older sister.
鈥淵ou had him with you when you murdered his sister,鈥� said Victoria Maestas, the mother of both Renezmae and her brother.
鈥淵ou forever embedded that image in his mind,鈥� Maestas said, her voice cracking with emotion. 鈥淚n spite of this, he鈥檚 so perfect in every way. Our son should not have to live with something like this. You were supposed to be his strength and his rock.鈥�
Torres, who was manacled and dressed in orange, stared down at the defense table as one family member after another addressed him .
Renezmae adored her brother and the two were inseparable during their brief lives together, Maestas said.
鈥淪he was so excited when she found out she was getting a brother,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he loved with her whole heart and called everyone her cousin. What I wouldn鈥檛 give to hear her say 鈥業 love you鈥� one more time.鈥�
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Jones called Renezmae鈥檚 death 鈥渆xceptionally difficult.鈥� Prosecutors said Torres refused to take responsibility for the girl鈥檚 death for almost four years.
鈥淭he defendant knew exactly what he did,鈥� Jones told the judge. 鈥淗e severely beat her about her head鈥� but every part of her body was severely injured, he said. 鈥淭he actions were purposeful, and he did it in cold blood.鈥�
Torres apologized to the family in brief remarks before Chief District Judge William P. Johnson sentenced him to 35 years under the terms of his plea agreement.
鈥淰ictoria, words can鈥檛 express how sorry I am,鈥� Torres said, turning to face Maestas. He said he hoped that Maestas would be able to forgive him eventually.
Johnson said any case involving the death of a child is difficult. 鈥淭his case is one of the most difficult I have presided over, based on the facts,鈥� he said.
Torres admitted in his plea agreement that he had inflicted the girl鈥檚 fatal injuries, which included blunt head trauma, a fractured left wrist, and other injuries to her neck, chest, back, buttocks, arms and legs.
Torres claimed that he was too intoxicated to remember how he injured Renezmae, according to his plea deal.
鈥淚 was extremely intoxicated by alcohol during the time I was caring for the children,鈥� Torres admitted. 鈥淚 do not remember what happened the night鈥� of the girl鈥檚 death, it said.
The investigation found that after the girl鈥檚 death, Torres had driven 5陆 miles from his home and left her body in the river on Sept. 8, 2019, prosecutors said.
Renezmae鈥檚 grandparents returned home that afternoon and were told by Torres that the girl had been missing since that morning, prosecutors said. The grandmother alerted Renezmae鈥檚 mother, who contacted law enforcement, initiating a massive search for the girl.
Torres鈥� failure to cooperate resulted in the three-day delay in the discovery of the girl鈥檚 body, prosecutors said.
The night the girl鈥檚 body was found, on Sept. 11, 2019, some 500 people gathered for a candlelight vigil in Espa帽ola鈥檚 city plaza to mourn her death.
鈥淪he was our shining star,鈥� Renezmae鈥檚 grandmother, Regina Pitts, told Torres at the hearing Monday. 鈥淪he was my first granddaughter. You took her away from me. Most importantly, Malcolm, you took her away from her brother.鈥�
