NATALIA LEE BURCIAGA - 2 yo - Marion County (S of Portland) OR

The mother of a 2-year-old girl who was beaten to death was found guilty
Wednesday of criminal mistreatment.
Marion County Circuit Judge Albin Norblad ruled that Amanda Burciaga,
20, failed to protect her children, which ultimately resulted in the
abuse of her son and the death of her daughter.



Amanda Burciaga, 20, was found guilty Wednesday
of criminal mistreatment
in the death of her 2-year-old daughter,
who was killed by Burciaga's
ex-boyfriend in 2008.

Norblad said Burciaga had several chances to save her
children but did nothing."But for her activity, a child would not be dead and
(her son) may not be emotionally destroyed," he said. "She made the
choices and she's caused the consequence for both children."Burciaga was found
guilty of three felony first-degree mistreatment charges. The maximum
sentence for a class C felony charge is five years in prison.Burciaga's 2-year-old
daughter, Natalia Lee, was killed in March 2008.She was stomped on, kicked and sexually assaulted,
and she died from crushing injuries to her liver.In June, Burciaga's ex-boyfriend, Russell Ros, 24,
was convicted of murdering the toddler and was sentenced to nearly 78
years in prison.He was also charged with abusing the woman's 4-year-old son, leaving him
with broken bones and bruises on more than one occasion.During the incidents, Burciaga was out of the state
working as a prostitute.Prosectors said when she returned from one of the trips Feb. 8, 2008, a month
before Natalia was murdered, Burciaga noticed clumps of hair missing
from her son's head and bruises on his body.She took the boy to see a doctor and failed to
mention that her son was staying with Ros, a man who had been convicted
for assaulting the boy a year earlier."I wasn't trying to deceive the doctors. I honestly
didn't believe it was abuse," Burciaga said.Noticeably nervous and dressed in a tight,
short-sleeved fuchsia turtleneck and black pants, Burciaga took the
stand Wednesday morning, on the second day of the trial.Deputy District Attorney Matt Kemmy fired questions
at the woman and detailed the circumstances of her son's abuse and
daughter's death.He said that on Feb. 13, five days after noticing that her son was
bruised, Burciaga noticed that one of his arms was swollen.
So swollen, Kemmy said, that she couldn't remove his shirt.
He said that when Burciaga questioned Ros, the man gave her several
different stories."She chose to believe him, even though he had beaten her son before," Kemmy
said.She did not take her son to the doctor or call the police.Burciaga said Ros made her feel guilty about accusing
him."Russell made me feel horrible about it," she said.Kemmy asked her if she was afraid of Ros. Burciaga
said she wasn't.During closing arguments, Kemmy held up two pictures."This is what's important to her," he said of the
first, which showed Burciaga kneeling over a pile of money and holding
up her middle finger.Kemmy held up the second picture, a photo of her children."This is what should have mattered," he said. "… She
left those kids with a monster and she overlooked every sign that there
was a problem, because that would have gotten in her way."During closing
arguments, defense attorney Lester Seto said there were two sides to Ros
and that he presented only the "charming and charismatic" side to
Burciaga."Ros had the manner of a skilled con man," Seto said.He said Ros appeared to care for the children and had
everything that Burciaga — a young mother with low self-esteem —
needed.Seto said there was no reason Burciaga would have thought Ros posed a threat
because there were no problems in the year after he first assaulted her
son.Norblad said Burciaga chose Ros ahead of the safety of her children.