Mother’s Boyfriend Held in Child’s Death
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A Northridge man has been charged with the murder last year of his live-in girlfriend’s 21-month-old son, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.
The man, Martin Torres, 21, was arraigned Wednesday on the charge stemming from the death of Emanuel Velasco on Sept. 28, 1984. The child died of internal bleeding from blows to the abdomen, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lloyd M. Nash said.
While Torres was alone with Emanuel and another child, he punched the baby in the liver and pancreas at their home in the Bryant Avenue-Vanalden Street area of Northridge, Nash said.
Torres was arrested shortly after the death but was released when the district attorney’s office said there was insufficient evidence to file charges.
The case was recently reopened, however, when a witness provided new information, and Torres was arrested Sunday night, Nash said.
Los Angeles Municipal Judge Elva R. Soper set Torres’ preliminary hearing for Jan. 2. He is in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.
The baby’s mother, Edwarda Dominguez, 27, was not arrested.
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