Grandview Man Charged With Abuse, Causing 2014 Death of Son
34-year-old Mario Torres is currently in the Sunnyside jail on an unrelated charge, but now he will be sent to Kennewick, where this week he's been charged with 1st. Degree manslaughter in the death of his son.
His 2-year-old son Nicholas I. Torres, died December 26th 2014 from what medical experts said was brain injuries caused by ongoing abuse.
Torres had been watching the boy while his mother went shopping. According to court reports, he told authorities the boy had fallen and hit his head. She had gone shopping December 22, and upon her return, Torres told the mother, Nicole Bernal, that the child had hit his head on a bed frame, but he was not in the room at the time. Because of lethargic sluggish behavior, he was finally taken to the hospital. His injuries, said officials, were consistent abuse, including bite marks on the child.
Doctors at Trios Emergency Room in Kennewick arranged for the boy to be sent to Spokane due to his injuries, but he died four days later. Torres is also accused of telling Nicholas' older brother to make up lies about what happened to the child.
Torres was found guilty of abusing the boy back in 2012, and did jail time last year for telling the other child to lie and interfering with the investigation.
He will be held on bail when he arrives in Kennewick. The reason is took so long to formally file the charges was due to the lengthy investigation involving CPS and medical reports, and other information.