Disturbing Murder of Corona Tot Lands Couple a Death Sentence

By City News Service:

Death sentences were imposed Friday on a Corona couple who tortured and killed the woman’s 2-year-old son and attempted to cover up the crime by claiming the child had been abducted.

Belinda Janette Magana, 29, and Naresh Michael Narine, 43, were convicted in January of the 2009 slaying of Malachi Magana.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz upheld jurors’ recommendations that the defendants receive capital punishment.

The defendants, who had separate juries, were both found guilty of first- degree murder, torture, aggravated mayhem and assault on a child resulting in great bodily injury, and jurors found true a special circumstance allegation of inflicting torture in the commission of a murder.

Magana and Narine subjected the tot to six straight days of severe abuse before his life gave out on May 9, 2009, according to the prosecution. The couple, by their own admissions, lashed out at the toddler any time he created a disturbance.

Malachi’s older brother, then 4, was not harmed. Magana told Corona police detectives that Malachi was the product of a rape, and she had never bonded with him.

Tensions increased after Narine moved into her house in the 1400 block of Hearthside Drive, according to Deputy District Attorney Daima Calhoun.

She said from May 4 to May 9, Malachi was repeatedly hit, spanked, thrown and pushed for creating the slightest bother. Narine complained that the mother of two did not enforce sufficient discipline, prompting both him and her to use extreme methods to keep Malachi quiet.

Magana told investigators that while she was away one afternoon, Narine put the toddler in the shower and turned the water on scalding hot, resulting in first- and second-degree burns to Malachi’s back -- from his shoulders to his buttocks. Narine told police it was an accident.

On other occasions, Narine used a closed fist to strike the child on his upper body and head. Both defendants spanked the victim in places where he already had purple bruises, and Narine used a belt to whip him, Calhoun said.

“Malachi began to cry more and more as the week went on because of the beatings and because of his ever-increasing injuries,” the prosecutor said.

Magana admitted yanking the child by the arm so hard and throwing him onto a couch that she either broke or dislocated the arm “because he couldn’t use it anymore,” according to the prosecutor.

On the morning of May 9, Narine pummeled the boy for moaning while Magana slept late. She later told police she found Malachi swaddled in a blanket, breathing shallow, face disfigured from swelling. He died moments later, according to the defendant’s statement.

Narine dumped the body in a plastic bag and tossed it into the back of his pickup truck, placed old blankets on top of the bag, then headed out with Magana and her other son to Apple Valley for a birthday party, according to Calhoun. The following day, they headed back south on Interstate 15, pulling off in Lytle Creek, where they drove into the hills and buried the remains.

After leaving San Bernardino County, they joined family and friends for a get-together in Lincoln Park in Corona. According to the prosecution, they conspired to report Malachi missing while at the park, telling police that he had just wandered off and was apparently kidnapped -- a story not corroborated by witnesses, including Magana’s 4-year-old son.

After several interviews with the defendants, investigators were able to ascertain where Malachi’s remains were located and recovered them.

The other child was taken to be raised by extended family following Magana’s arrest.

(Image via Shutterstock)