ISRAEL SANTOS - 5 weeks (2009) - Hamilton OH

The mother of a 5-week-old boy who reported the infant missing from
her home Monday has been charged with killing the child and placing his
body in a trash can, Hamilton police said Tuesday.

Asuncion Avila-Villa, 25, has been charged with murder, abuse of a
corpse, child endangering and tampering with evidence, according to a
police statement. She was jailed Tuesday.The woman tearfully
called 911 about 11:50 a.m. Monday. She told a dispatcher one of her
ex-boyfriends, who also is the father of the baby, took one of her sons
on Sunday and she hasn't seen him since.

"He has our son and I haven't seen him since last night," she said.

She said she has custody of her son, and the father hasn't been involved.

After Avila-Villa called police, detectives interviewed people throughout the
night Monday and into the early morning hours Tuesday.

Detectives on Tuesday found the baby in a plastic garbage bag stuffed in a trash
can in the alley behind the woman’s apartment on Schuler Avene in
Hamilton, said Officer Richard Burkhardt.

“It was pretty startling, pretty sad, a baby that young,” he said. “I am glad I was
not there. I could not have taken it. It is bad.”

Police are not disclosing how the baby died, or what condition his body was in.“Detectives
felt from the beginning that things weren’t adding up and, due to
diligent investigative work, this heinous crime was solved in a
relatively short period of time,” according to a police statement.

Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper said today he plans to ask for
the death penalty in a case in which a mother is charged with killing
her 5-week-old son.
Asuncion Avila-Villa, 25, has been charged with murder, abuse of a
corpse, child endangering and tampering with evidence, according to a
police statement. She was jailed Tuesday.The woman tearfully
called 911 about 11:50 a.m. Monday. She told a dispatcher one of her
ex-boyfriends, who also is the father of the baby, took one of her sons
on Sunday and she hasn't seen him since.

"He has our son and I haven't seen him since last night," she said.

She said she has custody of her son, and the father hasn't been involved.
After Avila-Villa called police, detectives interviewed people throughout the
night Monday and into the early morning hours Tuesday.

Detectives on Tuesday found the baby in a plastic garbage bag stuffed in a trash
can in the alley behind the woman’s apartment on Schuler Avene in
Hamilton, said Officer Richard Burkhardt.

“It was pretty startling, pretty sad, a baby that young,” he said. “I am glad I was
not there. I could not have taken it. It is bad.”

Police said the ex-boyfriend and father of the child is not implicated in any way in the child's death.The baby died from a crushed skull, said Dr. Richard Burkhardt, the Butler County Coroner.

The child also was apparently malnourished, weighing just 9 pounds -- just
an ounce more than his birth weight, Burkhardt said. He would have
expected a child with that birth weight to weigh 11 to 12 pounds by the
time the child reached a month old.

Piper, Butler County's prosecutor, said he will ask a grand jury to consider the death penalty.

Even though the investigation is still preliminary, the case already meets
one of Ohio's specifications that can carry the death penalty: the
murder of an infant, Piper said.“Detectives felt from the
beginning that things weren’t adding up and, due to diligent
investigative work, this heinous crime was solved in a relatively short
period of time,” according to a police statement.

A judge set bond this morning at $1 million for a Butler County mother of five who is accused of killing her 35-day-old son.

Asuncion Avila-Villa, 25, stood silently before Judge Daniel
Gattermeyer in Hamilton Municipal Court as Municipal Prosecutor Mary
Dudley read the allegations.
A few spectators in the courtroom, who were there for other cases,
covered their mouths as they heard Avila-Villa was accused of murder,
child endangering, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

She was arrested Tuesday, a day after she called 911 to report her son had
been missing since Sunday from her apartment on Shuler Avenue in
Hamilton.

Authorities say the child was never missing and Avila-Villa made the false report after killing her child and putting him in the trash.

Authorities say this is the first time in decades that a Butler County mother is accused in a fatal beating of her own child.
The baby, Israel Santos, suffered a crushed skull, a broken arm and other injuries authorities won't talk about.

Butler County Coroner Richard Burkhardt ruled the death a homicide and said
the child had been dead for a day or two by the time police discovered
his body amid trash that they had brought from Avila-Villa's apartment
to the police station as part of their investigation of the
missing-child report.

The child's teen father is not a suspect, police say.

Today in court, when Gattermeyer asked whether she worked, she shook her head, "no."

When he asked whether she was going to get an attorney or needed a
court-appointed one, she replied, "I need one." Those were the only
words she spoke during the few minutes she spent in court.

Gattermeyer set her next court date for Sept. 2. At that hearing, prosecutors are
required to present some of the evidence against Avila-Villa, to show
"probable cause" -- whether there is enough evidence to convince a
judge that a crime probably happened and that Avila-Villa may have
committed it.

That date would be canceled if Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper is able to push the case through a grand jury and obtain an indictment before then.

Piper has said he will try to persuade the grand jury to indict Avila-Villa on charges that could
bring the death penalty if she is convicted.

That means her attorney would have to be chosen from a short list of lawyers who are
certified by the Ohio Supreme Court to handle death-penalty cases.

A Hamilton mother accused of killing her 5-week-old son and putting
the body a garbage can behind her Shuler Avenue home admitted to
grabbing the infant by the face and shaking him, according to court
records.Asuncion “Suzie” Avila-Villa, 25, was charged Tuesday,
Aug. 25, with murder, tampering with evidence, gross abuse of a corpse,
and child endangering for the death of Israel Santos.According
to an affidavit released Wednesday seeking a warrant to search the
Shuler residence, “Eventually, Asuncion admitted that the baby was in a
bouncy seat in the bedroom of 1341 Shuler Apt. 3 crying for an extended
period of time and she became upset and grabbed him by the face with
both hands and shook him. After she shook him he became quiet and then
quit breathing.”Butler County Common Pleas Domestic Relations
Judge Eva Kessler signed the warrant giving detectives permission to
search Avila-Villa’s residence on the second floor. They took a vase
with artificial flowers from a bedroom and a bouncy seat from the hall
closet as evidence.Earlier Wednesday, a $1 million bond was set
for Avila-Villa, 25. Hamilton Municipal Court Judge Dan Gattermeyer set
a preliminary hearing date for 8 a.m., Sept. 2. She is housed in the
Butler County.At about 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, Avila-Villa
reported to police that her baby had been taken away by a former
boyfriend the previous night and he had not returned.Avila-Villa said Eric Estrena was the father of the infant and had picked him up at 9 p.m. on Sunday and not returned.But Hamilton detectives found Israel dead at about 3:45 a.m. Aug. 25 in a plastic bag thrown in an ally trash can.According
to an autopsy, the baby died of a crushed skull before being placed in
the bag, said Butler County Coroner Dr. Richard Burkhardt.The baby also had a broken arm and low body weight for a child his age, Burkhardt said.

Investigators say the Hamilton mother charged with killing her
5-week-old son and putting the body in a garbage can murdered the child
to cover up who fathered the baby.

A grand jury has indicted
Asuncion Avila-Villa, 26, for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
According to the indictment, the father is under the age of 16.

Villa is also charged with aggravated murder, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse.

Investigators
say Villa killed her 35-day-old son named Israel Santos, then put his
body inside a plastic bag in the trash behind her apartment on Shuler
Avenue.

Authorities say they started looking for the baby after Villa called them on August 24 and tried to cover up what happened.

Villa
told the 911 dispatcher: "I was just calling ‘cause ... one of my ex
boyfriends came to pick up one of my sons ... He said he was going to
take him. He hasn't come back yet."

Detectives worked the case all night before they found the baby in the garbage can on August 25.

The Butler County Coroner says the boy suffered from skull fractures as well as a broken arm.

Villa also has three other children.

She remains behind bars at the Butler County Jail on a $1 million bond.

A Hamilton woman killed her infant son and put him in the trash,
authorities allege, because she wanted to conceal the fact that she had
unlawful sex with a teen who fathered the baby.

That scenario added up to charges that could bring the death penalty
for Asuncion Avila-Villa, 26, of Hamilton, if she is convicted.Authorities believe she is the first woman facing possible capital punishment in Butler County in about a decade.“The facts of this case are so horrific, it justifies it,” said Prosecutor Robin Piper.
Avila-Villa, who is being held in the county jail on a $1 million bond, is set to
appear in court today1 on upgraded charges that were released Monday.

An indictment accuses Avila-Villa of aggravated murder in the death of her
35-day-old son, Israel Santos. He died of a crushed skull.

Police found the child’s body Aug. 25 amid trash they had taken to police
headquarters from behind Avila-Villa’s Shuler Avenue apartment.

The indictment lists two reasons the death penalty could be imposed, if a
jury agrees either or both conditions apply: The victim of the slaying
was a child under age 13, and the killing was committed “for the
purpose of escaping detection, apprehension, trial or punishment for
another offense” – unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

The latter specification refers to Avila-Villa’s conduct with the teen who is believed to have fathered the baby, Piper said.

Authorities are not disclosing the teen’s whereabouts but say they have talked to him.

Besides aggravated murder and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, Avila-Villa
also is accused of gross abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering.

A paternity test for the child was imminent when he died on or before Aug. 24, Piper said.

The test was about to be done because Avila-Villa was receiving public
assistance. In such a situation, government officials attempt to
determine the child’s parentage and collect child-support payments from
the parent who doesn’t have custody.

Avila-Villa killed the child and put him in the trash because she didn’t want authorities to
discover her sex crime with the teen boy who fathered Israel, Piper
said.

In a call to 911, Avila-Villa reported Israel missing and blamed the baby’s father, who she said was 21, for taking him.

Authorities say that report was false. They say the likely father is a boy whose
age is between 13 and 16. DNA testing has not yet been completed to
verify whether the teen did indeed father the child.

HAMILTON — A Hamilton mother accused of killing her 5-week-old son
and throwing his body in the trash has been declared competent to stand
trial.Butler County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Nastoff made the ruling today, Feb. 12 following a short hearing.Asuncion
“Suzie” Avila-Villa, 26, is charged with aggravated murder and several
other felonies, including abusing Israel Santos’ body and having sex
with a minor teen. Prosecutors say she killed her baby to escape
punishment for having sex with the underage boy.Nastoff
scheduled the hearing last week after Avila-Villa invoked her right to
remain silent when the judge attempted to quiz her about her
understanding of the legal proceedings.Defense attorney Chris Pagan advised his client not tho answer questions, noting possible future difficulties in her defense.Pagan
told the judge the defense has not raised the issue of incompetence,
but is attempting to collect medical records to determine if that issue
should be raised at all.Assistant Prosecutor Jason Phillabaum
noted defense counsel raised mental health issues and asked for a
psychiatrist to aid in the defense.He said he wanted to “clear the record” on Avila-Villa’s competency and requested the hearing.Detective
Paul Davis testified today that when he interviewed the mother in
August after she reported the infant missing, he found her behavior
“unusual.”“She was very calm,” Davis said.When he told
her that she was not acting like a mother whose child had been missing
for 12 hours, Avila-Villa made an attempt at emotion.“She didn’t really say anything, she forced out one tear and quit,” Davis said.The detective testified Avila-Villa told him she suffered from mental illness.

A convicted baby killer compared notes with a fellow jail inmate who also is
accused of killing a baby – and the letters between them could become evidence
when the woman stands trial on death-penalty charges.Vincent Blanda, convicted of murdering his 5-month-old daughter, Brooklynn,
was housed in the Butler County Jail’s medical unit at the same time that a
Hamilton woman accused of killing her baby, Asuncion Avila-Villa, was held
there.
“During that time, they were heard discussing their cases as well as details
of how they killed their babies,” a search warrant affidavit says.
Both babies suffered fatal head injuries, and mental-health concerns were
raised in both defendants’ cases.
In a document disclosed to Avila-Villa’s lawyers this week, prosecutors said
they had learned that Avila-Villa “has complained of hearing voices,” but no
further details were provided.
Assistant Prosecutor Jason Phillabaum declined comment. Avila-Villa’s lawyer,
Melynda Cook, said she couldn’t comment because she hadn’t seen the document
about the letters.
Avila-Villa, known as “Suzie,” faces trial Sept. 13 on accusations that she
killed her 5-week-old son, Israel Santos. Police found his body in trash taken
from Avila-Villa’s apartment last August after she reported the child
missing.
Authorities allege she killed the baby to keep his parentage secret.
Avila-Villa, 26, feared that if officials found out that the baby’s father was a
teenager, she would be prosecuted for having sex with a minor, authorities have
said.
Now, Avila-Villa is charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor plus
aggravated murder, gross abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.
After jailers said they learned Avila-Villa and Blanda had exchanged letters,
a judge granted permission for investigators to search Blanda’s jail cell last
month.
“It is very likely that Asuncion Avila-Villa has discussed the details of her
case with Vincent Blanda,” and those details could help with the investigation
of her baby’s death, Detective Mark Hayes wrote in his search-warrant
affidavit.
On Feb. 19, days before Blanda, 39, of Hamilton, was sentenced to 23 years to
life in prison, police searched his jail cell for “anything containing a
message” between Blanda and Avila-Villa.
Police seized three letters and one photograph. Contents of those documents
were not disclosed in court records, but police said they were hoping to learn
names of more witnesses and details of how Avila-Villa’s child was killed.

A challenge to the constitutionality of an Ohio court rule threatens to
put a Butler County death-penalty case on hold, but prosecutors are
fighting to keep the case moving forward.
The dispute surrounds the case of Asuncion Avila-Villa, 26, of Hamilton,
who is accused of killing her infant son last year.Authorities
say Avila-Villa wanted to avoid being prosecuted for having sex with a
teen boy, so she killed the baby to prevent officials from learning the
teen had fathered the child. Police found the baby in trash they took
from her apartment to sort for clues after she reported the child
missing.Avila-Villa is one of only a handful of Ohio women to ever
face a possible death sentence.In
documents filed Thursday, Avila-Villa's lawyers asked a state appeals
court to overturn Judge Andrew Nastoff's ruling that Ohio's Criminal
Rule 11, which governs guilty pleas in capital cases, "is not ripe for
consideration."The rule says that, after a person pleads guilty
in a death-penalty case, a three-judge panel decides whether execution
or one of several life prison terms will be imposed.But
Avila-Villa's lawyers argue that someone who pleads guilty in a
death-penalty case should be allowed a trial-by-jury on the issue of
punishment. "In this county, three-judge panels have been more willing
to impose death than juries have," the lawyers, Christopher Pagan and
Melynda Cook, say.Therefore, it's "paramount" to leave open the
option to plead guilty yet have one's fate decided by a jury rather than
the trio of judges, they say."Since the Ordinance of 1787,
Ohio juries have controlled capital sentencing," her lawyers point out.They
note that the state's current capital-punishment law was enacted in
1981, and "it vests the jury with the authority to determine
life-or-death, unless the defendant pleads guilty."They argue:
"Avila-Villa has an Ohio constitutional right to a jury determination of her sentence."They
say that Criminal Rule 11 violates the constitutional right to a jury
trial, and they want the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals to put
their client's case on hold while they consider the issue - a process
that could take weeks.But prosecutors say a hearing set for Friday
should go forward, as should Avila-Villa's Sept. 13 trial.
At issue in Friday's hearing: Whether the judge will allow Avila-Villa's statements to be included in her trial.

New trial date set for mother accused of killing infant
By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer
Updated 9:58 AM Friday, December 17, 2010



HAMILTON — A new trial date has been set for a Hamilton mother accused of killing her 5-week-old son.

The trial of Asuncion “Suzie” Avila-Villa, 27, who is facing the death penalty, is now scheduled to begin May 9 — nearly two years after the infant’s body was found dumped in the trash.

She’s accused of killing Israel Santos, covering his body in plastic wrap and tossing him in a garbage can in August 2009. Her trial was to begin Sept. 13, but appeals by the defense and prosecution led to an indefinite postponement.

The new trial date was set Thursday morning by Butler County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Nastoff. It is scheduled to last two weeks.

Meanwhile, defense attorneys are continuing to appeal Avila-Villa’s case to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing an Ohio law is unconstitutional.

Earlier this month, the Ohio Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a 12th District Court of Appeals decision in the case. Defense attorney Chris Pagan said he would appeal to the highest court in the nation. On Thursday, he said that notice of that appeal has been mailed to Washington D.C.

Avila-Villa is charged with aggravated murder and several other felonies, including abusing the infant’s body and having sex with a teenager. Prosecutors say she killed her baby to escape punishment for having sex with the underage male who fathered the child.

In the appeal, Pagan and counsel Melynda Cook are challenging the constitutionality of a criminal rule that allows a death penalty defendant to have sentencing decided only by a three-judge panel if the defendant pleads guilty to the charges.

The attorneys asked Nastoff to allow a jury to consider sentencing. When that motion was denied, Pagan and Cook appealed. The appellate court granted the prosecution’s motion to dismiss the appeal, stating it was not a motion the judges could consider because it is not a final order in the case. The Ohio Supreme Court agreed.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lpack@coxohio.com.

http://www.journal-news.com/news/crime/new-trial-date-set-for-mother-accused-of-killing-infant-1031103.html

Mother pleads guilty in baby's death
04-12-2011

Under a plea deal reached with prosecutors, a Butler County woman will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole but will avoid a possible death sentence in the slaying of her baby boy.

Asuncion Avila-Villa, 27, of Hamilton, pleaded to charges of aggravated murder, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor -- the baby's teen father.

Israel Santos was only 35 days old at the time of his death and was malnourished, said Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Muench-McElfresh. The baby also had been suffering from multiple injuries, including broken bones, a crushed skull and traumatic brain injury.

Avila-Villa has been locked up since August 2009, after police found her 5-week-old baby in trash taken from her residence. Avila-Villa had reported the baby was missing - a claim police say was fabricated to cover up the infant's slaying.

Authorities allege she killed the baby to avoid being prosecuted for having sex with the 14-year-old West Chester boy who fathered the infant.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110412/NEWS01/304120022/1196/winds/Mother-pleads-guilty-baby-s-death?odyssey=nav|head