Post by SoulTrainOz on Jun 18, 2006 3:16:30 GMT -5
A Carpentersville man will face the death penalty if he is convicted of killing a toddler, who suffered head injuries and broken bones after he was hurled across a bedroom, authorities said Thursday.
Andres Velazquez is charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the death of 2-year-old Ernest LaFleur, who died Jan. 6 after about a week on life support at a Chicago hospital.
Prosecutors on Tuesday filed court documents that said the cruel and heinous nature of the boys death warrants a lethal injection, said Christine Bayer, a Kane County assistant states attorney.
This kid suffered, she said.
Velazquez, 26, has pleaded not guilty and is jailed on $2 million bond. The death penalty decision is expected to be announced at a hearing today before Judge Timothy Sheldon.
Kane Countys states attorney John Barsanti acknowledged it could be difficult to obtain a death sentence for Velazquez, even though he also is eligible because of boys age.
If we can make a good argument for it, Ill go for it, Barsanti said.
The child, the son of Velazquezs girlfriend, was taken to Sherman Hospital in Elgin and transferred to Childrens Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Dec. 31, when state child welfare workers alerted police.
Investigators say Velazquez was baby-sitting the boy and the boys sister in an apartment in the 100 block of Woodland Court when he threw the boy about 9 feet across a bedroom.
He then tossed the boy again this time about 11 feet onto an air
mattress, fracturing the boys skull and breaking his collarbone, among other injuries, police have said.
Velazquezs attorney, Dennis Doherty, has called the boys death a tragic accident while rough housing with the children. Doherty was unavailable for comment Thursday.
The Chicago defense lawyer also could have to withdraw if he is not certified in capital cases, said Bayer, who added a death
penalty-qualified colleague must oversee Velazquezs prosecution.
Velazquez, who had lived in Berwyn and Cicero, had recently moved to Carpentersville before he was charged with the boys death. At the time, he was on probation for a forgery conviction.
(source: Daily Herald News)
Andres Velazquez is charged with 2 counts of 1st-degree murder in the death of 2-year-old Ernest LaFleur, who died Jan. 6 after about a week on life support at a Chicago hospital.
Prosecutors on Tuesday filed court documents that said the cruel and heinous nature of the boys death warrants a lethal injection, said Christine Bayer, a Kane County assistant states attorney.
This kid suffered, she said.
Velazquez, 26, has pleaded not guilty and is jailed on $2 million bond. The death penalty decision is expected to be announced at a hearing today before Judge Timothy Sheldon.
Kane Countys states attorney John Barsanti acknowledged it could be difficult to obtain a death sentence for Velazquez, even though he also is eligible because of boys age.
If we can make a good argument for it, Ill go for it, Barsanti said.
The child, the son of Velazquezs girlfriend, was taken to Sherman Hospital in Elgin and transferred to Childrens Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Dec. 31, when state child welfare workers alerted police.
Investigators say Velazquez was baby-sitting the boy and the boys sister in an apartment in the 100 block of Woodland Court when he threw the boy about 9 feet across a bedroom.
He then tossed the boy again this time about 11 feet onto an air
mattress, fracturing the boys skull and breaking his collarbone, among other injuries, police have said.
Velazquezs attorney, Dennis Doherty, has called the boys death a tragic accident while rough housing with the children. Doherty was unavailable for comment Thursday.
The Chicago defense lawyer also could have to withdraw if he is not certified in capital cases, said Bayer, who added a death
penalty-qualified colleague must oversee Velazquezs prosecution.
Velazquez, who had lived in Berwyn and Cicero, had recently moved to Carpentersville before he was charged with the boys death. At the time, he was on probation for a forgery conviction.
(source: Daily Herald News)