ROMAN QUIROZ - 3 Months (2006) - Fresno CA

The long-awaited trial of a former Marine accused of
murdering his 3-month-old son began Tuesday with both sides agreeing
that Robert Quiroz killed his son in November 2006.
What's in dispute in Fresno County Superior Court is whether he did it intentionally, through negligence or by accident.
Quiroz,
25, of Fresno, is accused of murder and felony child abuse in causing
the death of Roman Quiroz. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in
prison. The trial is expected to take two weeks.
In opening
statements Tuesday, Quiroz sat calmly at the defense table while his
lawyer, Michael Idiart, described him as a man who worshipped his wife,
Candice, and joined the Marines to give his family a better life. But
the evidence in Judge Jonathan Conklin's courtroom likely will open an
old wound for Fresno County's Child Protective Service.
Social
workers had taken Roman away from his father about five weeks before his
death after it was discovered that he had a broken arm. A few days
later, social workers returned Roman after his father agreed to take
parenting classes, Idiart said.

Much of the evidence is not in dispute.
Quiroz, then 20,
was in the Middle East for only a few days when he learned that his wife
had died while giving birth to Roman on Aug. 21, 2006. Candice was put
on life support. The lance corporal rushed home and laid by her side –
holding her hand and talking to her – for several hours before doctors
took her off life support, Idiart said.
Soon after, he had the
difficult task of burying his 20-year-old wife and taking care of his
newborn son – who was fussy, cried a lot and was colicky – and his
14-month-old daughter, Kylie.
Idiart said his grieving client was
not prepared for that task. Three months later, Roman would die from a
blow to the back of his head, both Idiart and prosecutor Michael Frye
said in opening statements.
"Roman led a tragic life," Frye told
the panel, "because he lost his mother at the time of his birth, and his
life was taken by the person who should have cared for him the most."
Frye
said Quiroz willfully inflicted the fatal injury and he was never
truthful about it to police detectives. Frye also said that about five
weeks before Roman died, the ulna and radius on his left arm were
fractured. And after Roman died, an autopsy revealed he suffered 10
broken ribs. The broken ribs happened about 72 hours before Roman's
death, Frye said.
Quiroz never explained how those injuries happened, either, he said.
Idiart,
however, said Quiroz loved his son and that he didn't know how his son
broke his arm and fractured his ribs. CPS and police investigated, but
could never prove Quiroz had broken his son's arm. By returning Roman to
his father, social workers apparently didn't believe Quiroz was a
danger to his son, Idiart told jurors.
In addition, Quiroz had
taken Roman to the doctor for a checkup on his broken arm a day before
he died, Idiart said. "Apparently, no one on this planet knew Roman had
broken ribs – not even the doctor," Idiart said.
But Idiart
conceded that Quiroz inflicted the fatal head injury, describing his
client as a Marine with no parenting skills. "Frankly, he didn't know
what the hell he was doing," he told the panel.
Quiroz's actions were negligent – not intentional, Idiart said. "He accepts full responsibility for what he did."
On
the morning of Nov. 18, 2006, Quiroz and his brother started moving
Quiroz's belongings to his new apartment. Afterward, Quiroz took Roman
and Kylie to a birthday party in Kerman. That evening, he returned home
with his two tired children.
According to Idiart, Roman was fussy
so Quiroz put him down on a couch. Quiroz aimed for a pillow, but
accidentally hit his son's head against the wooden armrest of the couch,
Idiart said. The injury, however, wasn't readily apparent – there was
no cut or bruising, Idiart told the jury. Quiroz then gave his son a
bottle of milk while he put Kylie to bed.
About 20 minutes later, Quiroz noticed his son wasn't breathing. He started CPR and called 911.
Autopsy
photographs don't show the head fracture until the infant's scalp is
pulled back, Idiart said. Jurors will have to see those photographs, he
warned. In addition, jurors will hear Quiroz tape-recorded statements he
gave to detectives.
Quiroz plans to testify in the trial, which
has been on hold for years because Quiroz's first attorney, Ernest
Kinney, died of cancer in April 2008. Idiart took over the case, but
changes in prosecutors also have delayed the trial.



Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/10/18/2581473/trial-begins-in-death-of-ex-marines.html#ixzz1bFG4nCae

Ex-Marine on trial for infant son's death

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Relatives say a former Fresno Marine accused of murdering his own baby boy blamed the child for the death of his mother in childbirth.

Day two of the murder trial against Robert Quiroz focused on his attitude toward his three-month-old son, and the explanations he gave for the boy's death.

Less than three months passed between the day Candice Quiroz died giving birth to her son Roman and the day Roman died of a fractured skull.

One of Candice's sisters says when she talked to Robert about his son's death, he said Candice would be mad at him.

Roman Quiroz died on a tattered, old couch. The couch didn't spend another night in the house.

"Robert had told me Roman had died on the couch," said Kami Short, Candice's older sister. "He choked on his bottle. That's why I wanted the couch out of the house before I went in."

Short had allowed Roman and his father, Robert Quiroz, to live in her house after her sister died giving birth to the boy.

We're not allowed to show you Short's face as she testified Wednesday, but she talked to Action News shortly after her brother-in-law was arrested for murder.

Short had several conversations with Quiroz about how Roman died. At first, she says he told her Roman died from choking.

"Did he say anything else during that conversation?" asked prosecutor Mike Frye.

"Just that my sister was going to be mad at him," she said. "Candice (would be mad.)"

After investigators determined Roman's skull was fractured, Quiroz told his sister-in-law he may have accidentally put Roman's head into the armrest of the couch. That's when Short started to think something sinister might've happened.

"It was hard to believe he could've fractured his skull by hitting his head on the arm of the couch," Short testified.

Short said Quiroz never bonded with Roman and blamed the boy for his mother's death. But defense attorney Michael Idiart also attacked Short's credibility -- getting her to admit she sometimes smoked marijuana while Roman and her own kids were at home.

As we mentioned, Short got rid of the couch where Roman died. It hasn't been destroyed, though. In fact, it's coming to court during this trial.

Jurors will be able to look at it in a courthouse basement, probably in the next couple days.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8398823

Ex-Marine on trial for infant death, jurors hear tapes

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- In an extremely unusual court session, jurors left the courtroom Monday for an up close look at evidence in the murder trial against a former Fresno Marine.

The trial against Robert Quiroz moved from the seventh floor to the basement Monday afternoon.

The jurors, the lawyers, the judge and his staff, as well as an Action News camera all set up in the courthouse basement to check out the couch on which three-month-old Roman Quiroz died.

The murder trial turned into a hands-on experience for the jury that will decide whether the former Marine is guilty of murder.

As the trial convened in the basement, a homicide investigator demonstrated how Quiroz said he must have accidentally fractured his son's skull when he took little Roman out of a car seat and put him on a couch.

"Basically, from this position, it was here," Fresno Police Dept. detective Brad Alcorn said as he demonstrated a movement across his body.

For the first four days of trial, jurors had heard about the couch -- about how it was old, raggedy, and not very cushiony.

"Like in a new couch when you press on it, you can definitely tell if the padding is new," Det. Alcorn testified. "In this case, it's not. When you, with any pressure at all, when you push on the padding, you can feel the hard wooden armrest beneath it."

Monday, jurors actually got the chance to feel it for themselves, and for the first time, they got a close look at the defendant.

Temporarily released from his shackles, Quiroz walked to the couch and stood next to it to give jurors some perspective.

Jurors also heard from Quiroz for the first time during the trial. Prosecutors played the taped interviews he gave homicide detectives after his son's death.

Quiroz never admitted to intentionally hurting Roman, but he gradually realized during the interviews that he was responsible for what happened.

"I'm probably going to go to jail," he told detectives. "I know you guys are not going to arrest me, but I told you, you know, the head is me. I did it."

Jurors will eventually hear from Quiroz directly. The former Marine is expected to testify later this week to give his version of his son's death.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8404081

Autopsy evidence in murder trial against Ex-Marine

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Jurors heard the gruesome details Tuesday of exactly how a three-month-old baby was killed from the doctor who performed the autopsy.

Former Fresno Marine Robert Quiroz was caring for his son when the little boy died. This is how a normal three-month-old child's skull should look. This is how coroners say Roman Quiroz's skull looked after his death.

The actual autopsy photos are too disturbing for television, but Dr. Michael Chambliss drew what he called a complex fracture on the picture of a normal child's skull. Chambliss testified the fracture went all the way through Roman's skull -- through 1/8 inch of bone. It also splintered the skull like an eggshell. Chambliss said it would take more than a simple fall to cause this particular fracture.

"It's a considerable amount of force," he said. "The amount of energy it takes to fracture that is more of a higher velocity type of injury."

Roman's father, Robert, has admitted to accidentally putting his son's head into the armrest of a couch. But Chambliss noticed more injuries to Roman at the autopsy. He said the boy had several broken ribs on both sides of his body and bruises on his chest that didn't seem associated with CPR or medical treatment. He said someone applied a crushing force to the ribs and ruled the infant's death a homicide.

"Roman's death is a case of fatal child abuse syndrome in which we have physical injuries in multiple locations," Chambliss said.

Robert Quiroz has denied causing the injuries to Roman's ribs. For the first time during the weeklong trial, Quiroz let his emotions show in court Tuesday. He covered his face to hide tears as Dr. Chambliss described Roman's injuries, and frowned as he looked away from jurors leaving the courtroom shortly afterwards.

Dr. Chambliss was the prosecution's last witness. The defense takes over on Wednesday and Quiroz is expected to testify in his own defense.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8405568

Former Fresno Marine testifies in infant son's murder

Thursday, October 27, 2011

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The former Fresno Marine on trial for his son's murder took the stand in his own defense.

Robert Quiroz finished testifying Wednesday afternoon. He's on trial for his infant son's murder.

Officials say a head injury is what killed little Roman Quiroz. But when police and family members asked Robert Quiroz how his son died, he told them all, the boy choked. Even Wednesday, as he admitted he caused the head injury, he said he couldn't show the jury exactly what happened.

Emotions overcame Robert Quiroz as he accepted responsibility for the death of his son, Roman. His tearful testimony came minutes after he demonstrated how he put the three-month-old on a couch. Quiroz believes the impact is what killed his son, but he said he couldn't show the jury how hard he put Roman down. Instead, he tried to describe it.

Michael Idiart, Quiroz's defense attorney: "Was the contact with roman's head to the arm of the couch hard?"

Quiroz: "It was hard. Yes."

Idiart: "Too hard?"

Quiroz: "Yes."

Quiroz said his son was still alive and breathing afterwards and didn't have any obvious signs of injury on his head. But his face showed, not everything was okay.

Quiroz: "He had a very dazed look on his face. It was mostly in his eyes."

Idiart: "What did you see?"

Quiroz: "His eyes were looking left to right very fast."

Quiroz performed CPR and called 911, but by the time help arrived, it was too late. Roman was dead.

Investigators and family members started asking questions that night. But Quiroz didn't tell anyone about the incident with the couch until after coroners determined Roman died of a fractured skull.

Even though he said it was an accident, Quiroz said he didn't want anyone to know about it, especially if it wasn't what killed his son.

Quiroz: "At first I thought Roman choked. The hitting of the head was in the back of my mind, but I didn't want to bring that up."

Idiart: "Why?"

Quiroz: "Because I was ashamed of it."

Closing arguments in the case are set for Friday. After that, it'll be up to the jury to decide if it's first degree murder or a lesser crime like manslaughter, which is what the defense claims.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8407328

Closing arguments heard in Ex-Marine's murder trial
Saturday, October 29, 2011

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Final thoughts on the final moments of a three-month-old boy's life, and the violent way it ended, as a murder trial comes to a close.

Robert Quiroz&, 25, is on trial for the murder of his infant son, but he got a small victory Friday, even before the lawyers made their closing arguments.

Prosecutors decided Friday not to pursue first degree murder charges. They're still going after second degree, and the last thing the jury heard was that Quiroz is a guilty man.

Five years after he admittedly killed his 3-month-old son, Robert Quiroz is nearing the end of his legal journey. In his last chance to control his client's fate, his attorney admitted Quiroz is not an innocent man.

"Robert is not a murderer," said defense attorney Michael Idiart. "He's guilty of involuntary manslaughter."

But prosecutors argued, a murderer is exactly what Quiroz is. They say he acted with malice when he grabbed his crying son, cracked his ribs, and then escalated the violent encounter.

"He squeezed him," said prosecutor Mike Frye. "He had a choice to say 'Ah, I'm just going to put him back in the chair. I'm going to step outside. I'm going to cool down. I'm going to reflect on this.' He had that ability, but he chose -- it was not an accident -- he chose to slam him down."

Quiroz walked jurors through the deadly incident on Wednesday, but said he couldn't bring himself to show them the actual speed at which he put baby Roman onto a couch. Prosecutors said that's because it would've been repulsive to see it in real time.

The baby suffered a complex fracture coroners said is usually associated with a high velocity impact. But he couldn't rule out some other possibilities. The defense team is hoping that'll create reasonable doubt for the jury.

"You can talk until the cows come home about what kind of fall or what kind of injury or what kind of blow caused that," Idiart said. "No one really know other than it's considerable force."

Jurors will have the whole weekend to think about the case before coming back on Monday to start talking to each other about a verdict.

Even without the first degree murder charges, Quiroz could still face a life sentence.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8410314

Valley Marine found guilty of murder
Monday, October 31, 2011

Quiroz convicted of second-degree murder

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A former Fresno Marine is now a convicted killer.

Robert Quiroz faced four charges in connection with the death of his three-month-old son, Roman.

A jury found the 25-year-old guilty of second degree murder, as well as child abuse causing death.

They found him guilty of injury to a child for breaking Roman's ribs, but they found him not guilty of injury to a child for a prior injury to his arm.

Robert's family backed him throughout the trial.

They shed some tears Monday afternoon, and left without talking to the media.

But Action News heard from a sister who is still defending the ex-marine.

Quiroz closed his eyes when he heard the jury's decision on his fate.

He kept his composure and had nothing to say, but his family and his attorney's assistant cried for him as the verdict came down.

"You know he really didn't have any words," said his defense attorney, Michael Idiart. "He was more concerned with my assistant and how she reacted."

It took five years for Quiroz to stand trial, and two weeks to get through all the evidence, but only four hours for the jury to reach their verdict.

In the end, they sided with prosecutors who said Robert squeezed his son Roman's ribs so hard, he broke ten of them, then threw the boy into something so hard, the 3-month-old suffered a complex fracture to his skull.

"I think the forensic evidence was strong and I think there was a great investigation right from the beginning of this case," said prosecutor Mike Frye.

For Quiroz, the journey from the uniform of a Marine to the prison uniform he'll wear from now on has been a long one.

In 2006, his wife died in childbirth on the day Quiroz arrived in Iraq.

He rushed back to Fresno and took over childcare duties for the newborn Roman, and his older sister.

As Robert's sister, Catalina, posted on the ABC-30 Facebook page, family members always believed he had nothing but love for his kids and would never hurt them.

But even his own attorney wasn't surprised by the verdict -- disappointed, but not surprised.

"I knew this was a difficult case," Idiart said. "You have an infant victim and my client always admitted he delivered the death blow."

Idiart told jurors his client was guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but not murder -- a losing argument in the end.

Roman's older sister is alive and well, living with her mother's family. Her father will be sentenced in December.

If he gets the expected sentence of 34 years to life, he'll be eligible for parole for the first time at the age of 45.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=8412260

Sentencing delayed for Robert Quiroz, convicted of killing son
By Pablo Lopez - The Fresno Bee
Tuesday, Dec. 06, 2011 | 09:31 AM

The sentencing for a former Marine convicted of second-degree murder in the beating death of his 3-month-old son five years ago was delayed to Jan. 24 in to give him time to get his affairs in order.
On Oct. 31, a Fresno County Superior Court jury found Robert Quiroz, 25, guilty of killing his son, Roman, and of fracturing his son's ribs. He was acquitted of charges related to a broken arm on the child.
Quiroz faces up 34 years to life in prison.
Quiroz, then 20, was in the Middle East only a few days when he learned his wife, Candice, had suffered an aneurysm hours after giving birth to Roman on Aug. 21, 2006. Quiroz came home and spent several hours by his wife's side before she was taken off life support and died.
Police theorized that Quiroz never got over his wife's death and took out his anger on his infant son. Roman died of a massive blow to the back of his head on Nov. 18, 2006.

This morning, Quiroz's attorney, Michael Idiart, asked to delay his client's sentencing because Quiroz, who received money from his wife's life insurance, wants to set up a trust fund for his two daughters. Idiart said he also plans to use the extra time to get letters of support for his client for his sentencing.
Prosecutor Michael Frye did not object to the continuance.


Read more: http://www.fresnobee.com/2011/12/06/2639500/sentencing-delayed-for-robert.html#ixzz1gRHlWumM

Snipped from above article:

"The sentencing for a former Marine convicted of second-degree murder in the beating death of his 3-month-old son five years ago was delayed to Jan. 24 in to give him time to get his affairs in order."

Sentencing is delayed so he can get his affairs in order? What the heck? He murdered his 3 month innocent son. Why can't he get his affairs in order from jail? If he's out onf bail, that's ludicrous.

Oh, and keep in mind this crime occured FIVE YEARS AGO!

How much "affairs" can one person have? Hoo-Rah Asshat!