JESUS YANDEL MARTINEZ - 4 months -(2009) North Logan UT

Cache County prosecutors filed charges Monday against a man accused in the shaking death of his 4-month-old son.
Francisco Martinez, 36, of North Logan, faces one count of child
abuse homicide, a first-degree felony, and two counts of inflicting
serious physical harm against a child intentionally, second-degree
felonies.

His son, 4-month-old Jesus Yandel Martinez, was pronounced dead at
Primary Children's Medical Center just after 11 p.m. Sunday, said North
Park police Sgt. John Italasano.
Jesus was on life support since Wednesday, after Martinez called
911 to report the child wasn't breathing. Paramedics took the infant to
Logan Regional Medical Center from the home near 2500 North and 300
East, then flew him to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake
City.
Martinez was arrested Friday, after police and doctors found the
child's severe internal head injuries were consistent with those of a
shaken baby.
Martinez was the only adult at home with Jesus and three other
children, believed to be 18 months old, 4 and 5 years old. The baby
also had other, older injuries: A broken leg and two broken ribs that
were in different stages of healing.
Police arrested Martinez on Friday in Salt Lake City, where the
family was staying with relatives to be close to the child, and taken
to Cache County jail. He remained in jail Monday. Immigration officials
have also placed a hold on Martinez as he is suspected of being in the country illegally.
Italasano said that North Park police had not been to Martinez's
home for any prior incidents of child abuse or domestic violence. The
other three children in the home, who are Martinez's stepchildren, did
not show any signs of abuse, he said. Officers are investigating
whether their mother was aware of the abuse.

Logan man to re-enact child abuse as part of plea

Updated Mar 22, 2011 11:30PM



A North Logan man has admitted fatally injuring his 4-month-old son and — as part of his plea deal — will re-create the crime to help medical experts better understand the physical mechanisms of child abuse.

Francisco Javier Martinez, 37, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of second-degree felony child abuse homicide for the November 2009 death of Jesus Yandel Martinez.

The father faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced April 19 by 1st District Judge Kevin Allen.

Martinez was initially charged with the more serious crime of first-degree felony child abuse homicide, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison. He also was charged with two counts of intentionally inflicting physical harm on a child. Those counts were dismissed in exchange for Martinez’s guilty plea.

Defense attorney James J. Lee said Wednesday the resolution of the case was “fair.”

Lee added that the re-creation of the abuse, which will be videotaped using a special doll designed to measure shaking and impact forces, will contribute to medical science and also help with his client’s “healing process.”

During Tuesday’s plea hearing, prosecutors told the judge that Martinez has described three separate events in 2009 that resulted in injury to the infant.

• In October, Martinez fractured the baby’s leg by grabbing him and pulling him across a bed.

• In mid-November, he held the boy’s torso with sufficient pressure to fracture two ribs.

• On Nov. 18, the father held the child upside down by his abdomen and twice slammed the baby’s head into his lap.

The infant stopped breathing soon after the slamming episode, and Martinez called 911. The child, who suffered brain injuries, was pronounced dead four days later at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City.



http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51174776-76/child-martinez-abuse-plea.html.csp