South Bay Mom Convicted As Accessory In 2-Year-Old Son's Death

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — A Santa Clara County jury Thursday convicted a South Bay woman of being an accessory to the killing of her 2-year-old son and for allowing him to be sexually abused.

Samantha Torres, 27 of San Jose was found guilty on multiple felony counts even though earlier this year a jury acquitted her fiancé, Manuel Lopez, on the murder charges that were the basis of her prosecution, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday in a news release.

A Santa Clara County jury found Lopez not guilty in June after his attorney argued that DNA evidence presented by prosecutors was inconclusive, according to a San Jose Mercury News report.

“We didn’t agree with (the Lopez verdict) and we respect the jury for their time, but our theory about the crime hasn’t changed,” Deputy District Attorney Angela Bernhard told The Mercury News.

“Our belief that Samantha was an accessory after the fact to that murder is not really impacted by that jury’s verdict.”

But Lopez's acquittal was not a factor in Torres' case.

She was found guilty of permitting a child to suffer or endangering the health of a child; accessory after the fact to murder; and perjury under oath, prosecutors said.

Torres will be sentenced Sept. 28.

“Apollo lived a nightmare in the year leading up to his death. Samantha Torres failed to protect Apollo from her fiancé, and then chose to protect her fiancé during the subsequent murder investigation and prosecution,” Deputy District Attorney Lance Daugherty said in a statement.

“We thank this jury for seeing the truth.”

Apollo Torres was killed Jan. 16, 2016 during the commission of a sexual assault, prosecutors said.

It was discovered during a subsequent investigation that in the year prior to his death, Apollo suffered massive and multiple injuries including two broken elbows, a broken wrist, a break to his femur, a skull fracture, bruises, and broken blood vessels in both eyes, prosecutors said.

Evidence showed that his mother failed to seek medical care or lied about the nature of the injuries when she did, which prevented medical professionals from detecting the ongoing abuse, prosecutors said.

At the time of his death, Apollo had 18 scars on his body reflecting prior injuries.

The Medical Examiner discovered that Apollo had 82 acute injuries from his head to his feet, including 48 bruises (both internal and external), 24 abrasions and 10 lacerations.

Apollo suffered so many injuries that it was impossible for the Medical Examiner to determine the exact mechanism of death. His cause of death was classified as “homicidal violence,” prosecutors said. Scientific evidence indicated that Apollo was asphyxiated during the commission of a sexual assault.

The perjury charge stemmed from Torres’ false testimony at the preliminary hearing in the prosecution of Lopez, whose DNA and other trace evidence was found on Apollo’s body, clothing, and bedding from the night of his death.