"Newborn John" LUA - 2 Months (2/2011)/ Convicted: Father; Sigifredo Farias Lua - Antioch CA

Baby taken off life support after beating by dad

Thursday, February 17, 2011


Sigifredo Lua

ANTIOCH, Calif. --
A 2-month-old Antioch boy who was severely beaten Tuesday evening has
been declared brain dead and was taken off life-support Wednesday night,
Antioch police Sgt. Diane Aguinaga said today.

Police received a call from Sutter Delta Medical Center
shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday reporting that an infant was suffering
from major injuries believed to be the result of child abuse, Aguinaga
said. Doctors told police that the infant was unresponsive when he was brought
to the hospital by ambulance. The baby was transferred to Children's Hospital in Oakland where he
was treated for multiple fractured bones, a lacerated liver and
bleeding in his brain, police said. Doctors, however, were
unable to save him and took him off life support Wednesday. Aguinaga
said he is expected to be pronounced dead today. While police
were investigating the case, they learned that the boy's father,
Sigifredo Lua, 23, had been taking care of the boy and his 2-year-old
brother while his wife was at work. He reportedly called his wife and
told her that the baby was injured and she called 911, police said.
According to police, Lua's initial statements to investigators
about how the infant had been hurt were inconsistent with the boy's
injuries. Lua later allegedly confessed that he punched the baby in the face, police said.
Investigators also found evidence that the 2-year-old had been
abused in the past. He has been placed into protective custody and will
undergo a thorough medical exam, Aguinaga said. Lua was arrested on suspicion
of felony child abuse causing great bodily injury and booked into county jail in Martinez.
Investigators are scheduled to present the case to the district
attorney's office today and will be seeking murder charges against Lua,
Aguinaga said. She said the children's mother, who was at
work when the abuse happened, was extremely distraught and has been
cooperating with investigators. There is no indication that she
knowingly left her children in danger, police said. Police
are continuing to investigate the case and are asking anyone with
information about it to call Detective Robert Green at (925) 779-6932.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=7964830

http://www.fugitive.com/2011/04/20/sigifredo-lua-pleaded-not-guilty-to-murder-charges-of-killing-his-infant-son-by-punching-him-antioch/
Sigifredo Lua pleaded not guilty to murder charges of killing his infant son by punching him, Antioch
Published by Staff Writer on April 20, 2011

An Antioch man accused of killing his infant son by punching him in the face pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Tuesday, according to court records.Sigifredo Lua, 23, also pleaded not guilty to willfully injuring a child – a charge that stemmed from an alleged attack in 2009 on his older son, who is now 2 – and inflicting corporal injury on a spouse for allegedly beating his wife, a prosecutor and a court clerk said.

The alleged beating of the infant occurred on Feb. 15 when Lua was home alone caring for his two sons while his wife was at work.He reportedly called his wife and told her that the baby was hurt and she called 911, Antioch police said.The baby, who was 2 months old, was taken to a hospital by ambulance.

He died three days later at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, police said.Lua allegedly confessed to police that he had punched the baby in the face to make him stop crying, police said.Prosecutors said the police investigation revealed that Lua had abused his wife earlier that month and that his older son had been hospitalized in 2009 when he was 2 months old for injuries Lua had allegedly inflicted upon him.

Police and Child Protective Services investigated the 2009 incident, but the district attorney’s office found insufficient evidence to file charges at that time, Deputy District Attorney John Cope said.Lua remained in custody today in lieu of $1.2 million bail. He is scheduled to return to court June 21 to set a date for a preliminary hearing.His attorney could not be reached for comment.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_19596434

Antioch father ordered to trial for fatally punching 2-month-old son


PITTSBURG -- A 24-year-old Antioch father accused of fatally punching his 2-month-old son in the head in February was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on murder charges.

Sigifredo Lua was also held to answer on one count of felony child abuse for older injuries suffered by the infant, misdemeanor child abuse for allegedly slapping his older son in 2009 -- when that child was 2 months old -- and felony domestic violence for alleged abuse on the children's mother.

Lua, described by his former partner as having mood swings, told police that he hit the infant on the side of his head with a closed fist on Feb. 15 out of frustration with the baby's crying.

The infant, referred to in court as John Doe, died in his mother's arms at a hospital three days later. He had multiple skull fractures, a lacerated liver and broken ribs in various stages of healing, prosecutor Jason Peck said.

Lua first told police he slipped while holding the infant and that the child's head hit a couch armrest, officers testified. When asked to explain the baby's broken ribs, Lua said it must have been caused on a hot day -- in winter -- when both he and his son were sweaty, and he squeezed the infant's body to stop him from slipping out of his arms.

The children's mother said she left Lua in January 2009 when she first suspected that he hit their older son, but she later returned to him because she needed his financial support.

The woman, who described being abused herself by Lua, said her fear of Lua stopped her from being fully forthcoming with officers when she first called police on him.



"I wanted to tell them everything, but I was afraid of the consequences that would happen after," she said.

Lua's preliminary hearing did not delve into the what actions Contra Costa County Children and Family Services took after police reported that he abused his older son in 2009. The district attorney's office said there was insufficient evidence at the time to charge him with that attack.

Lua returns to court on Jan. 19 for post-preliminary hearing plea entry.

Antioch man accepts 25-year prison sentence for infant son's death

By Gary Peterson Contra Costa Times
POSTED:   09/15/2014 02:32:51 PM PD
UPDATED:   7 MONTHS AGO

MARTINEZ -- The mother who cradled her 2-month-old son in February 2011 while he took his final breaths lashed out Monday at the infant's father after he accepted responsibility for the Antioch boy's death, taking a plea agreement with prosecutors that carries a 25-year prison sentence.

"This is someone who is not sorry," the boy's mother said, reading from a statement as defendant Sigifredo Farias Lua looked on from a courtroom prisoners enclosure. "He's sorry he got caught. He's evil. He's a monster."

Lua, 27, pleaded no contest to nine felony counts, including voluntary manslaughter, and two enhancements related not only to the death of his infant son but also to child abuse against another of his three boys and against the children's mother. The Antioch man will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. With time served, he could be paroled in 2031.

Prosecutor Jason Peck said Lua was offered a plea for voluntary manslaughter instead of murder out of concern that three medical experts hired by the defense, plus some of Lua's statements to police that ran contrary to some of the evidence in the case, could have raised doubt in the minds of jurors.

Police say Lua was watching two of his sons on Feb. 15, 2011, when he punched the 2-month-old in the face to get him to stop crying. The infant died three days later from a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. He also was found to have broken ribs.

Since the incident, one of the couple's sons has been adopted by the brother and sister-in-law of John Doe's mother.

"It's been close to three years since we have seen each other," the woman said, crying. "This tragedy completely destroyed us. I want my family back."

Peck read a letter from John Doe's grandmother, which stated in part, "We're never going to be the same. Please give Lua the sentence he deserves, life in prison."

Judge Terri Mockler, visibly moved by the victim impact statements, told John Doe's family that she gave Lua the longest sentence she could, given the charges. She then imposed the sentence, as Lua wiped tears from his eyes.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/contra-costa-times/ci_26538582/antioch-man-accepts-25-year-prison-sentence-infant