Pair admits guilt in newborn's death in Oxnard
Two individuals accused of the strangulation death of a newborn boy almost four years ago in Oxnard have pleaded guilty and face lengthy prison terms, Ventura County prosecutors announced Monday.
The child's mother, Andrea Torralba Camacho, 24, pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder. Then on Monday, David Luna Villa, 24, who reportedly was her boyfriend, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and dropped his bid to go to trial.
He faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison, while she faces a sentence of 15 years to life, prosecutors said.
The child died in July 2019 at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard shortly after Camacho delivered him, The Star reported that year. The couple had moved to Oxnard from Oaxaca, Mexico early that year after Camacho was allegedly raped by another man and became pregnant, prosecutors said.
The baby was born July 18, 2019 but was pronounced dead the next day after the strangulation, prosecutors said.
Camacho was allowed by the prosecution to plead guilty to second-degree murder. Prosecutors took into account medical evidence that she was suffering from post-partum depression as well as the possibility that she had been sexually assaulted, said Amber Lee, the senior deputy district attorney handling the cases against both defendants.
She had received prenatal care, but showed no interest in the child after the birth and her depression may have left her unable to bond with the child, according to prosecutors.
Lee said she did not know why Villa dropped his court fight and pleaded guilty but suggested that he recognized he had a weak legal position.
"He admitted to what he did at the time, and he wasn't going to be offered anything less (by the prosecution)," she said.
Initially, Camacho tried to suffocate the baby in her hospital room on the night of July 18, 2019, while Villa tried to strangle him and break his neck, Lee said. When they noticed the baby was still moving, Villa removed the child from the mother's grasp, sat down on a piece of furniture and pressed into the child's neck for approximately five to 10 minutes, Lee said.
The baby named Diego was revived in the hospital's intensive care unit but pronounced dead the next day, she said.
Melanie Miles, the attorney handling the defense, could not be reached for comment Monday.
Both defendants have been held in the county jail system since their arrests in July 2019, the prosecution said. They are being held without bail, county records show. They are both scheduled to be sentenced in late March.
The District Attorney's Office said the case was preventable under California's Safe Surrender Baby Law. The law allows a parent or legal guardian to confidentially surrender an infant 3 days old or younger to any hospital emergency room or designated fire station.
As long as the baby has not been abused or neglected, the parent or guardian may surrender the child without fear of arrest or prosecution for child abandonment, the DA's Office said. The child will receive needed medical treatment and be placed in adoptive care, according to prosecutors.
Staff writer Kathleen Wilson covers Ventura County courts, crime and government issues. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Pair pleads guilty in newborn's death in Oxnard
