GABRIELLE "Gabby" RANDEL - 2 yo (2010) - Tampa FL

TAMPA --

Two-year-old Gabrielle "Gabby" Randel was battered from head to
toe, choking to death when the force of the blows collapsed her chest
and stomach.

Her mother's boyfriend, a martial arts instructor, insists he had
nothing to do with Gabby's death. Still, he pleaded guilty Wednesday to
murdering her and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Kenneth G. Lopez said it was in his best interest to plead guilty to
second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in a plea deal that gave
him 20 years in jail followed by 20 years on probation. He faced up to
life in prison.

Lopez had nothing to say before Circuit Judge Ashley B. Moody passed
sentence, adopting the terms of the deal Lopez struck with prosecutors.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Sinacore said Gabby's father wasn't
thrilled Lopez won't spend the rest of his life behind bars, but he
agreed to the deal – particularly because there was an issue of
investigators speaking with Lopez before advising him of his right to
remain silent.

Lopez agreed to drop any claims of violations of his Miranda rights as part of the plea deal.

Danielle McCleary, the toddler's mother, pleaded guilty to aggravated
child neglect in March 2010 and agreed to testify against Lopez. She
faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years. She is set to be sentenced
Oct. 11.

Sinacore said McCleary was prepared to tell jurors Lopez wrapped
Gabby in a blanket and repeatedly beat her because she wouldn't stop
crying in March 2009.

McCleary and Lopez met gaming on line, playing World of Warcraft. The
games turned into emails, then trysts and an affair. McCleary left her
husband and took Gabby and her then 3-year-old brother to live with
Lopez.

While McCleary said Lopez always was gentle with the children, he was
abusive to her. But that changed, she told prosecutors, when they moved
to Tampa and he was asked to leave her parents' house where they were
living. They moved into an apartment a couple of weeks before Gabby was
killed.

The day before the toddler's death, her brother, Bryan, and she got
into a squabble. Lopez blamed the boy and told McCleary to discipline
him or he would. The mother wrote "DumbAss" on his forehead to appease
Lopez, Sinacore said.

McCleary told prosecutors she wanted to leave Lopez, but he put her
in a choke hold, threatened to kill her and told her that he never would
allow her to leave.

McCleary said she used to sneak off to a neighborhood gas station to
sneak a smoke and get away from Lopez. She would eat a cookie to cover
the smoke on her breath; Lopez didn't approve of the habit.

McCleary first told investigators she wasn't there when Gabrielle
died. Later she acknowledged watching the beating. She said she tried to
intervene but Lopez twisted her neck and threatened her. She said she
stopped because she was afraid of Lopez.

Lopez and McCleary were living in a room at the Homestead Inn at 5401
Beaumont Center Blvd. after moving to Florida from Illinois.

McCleary's son, Bryan, was in the bathroom during the beating. He now lives with his father in Texas.
http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/aug/24/3/tampa-man-admits-killing-girlfriends-2-year-old-da-ar-252625/