Local Man Who Killed Baby Daughter, Sexually Assaulted Wife, Gets 50 Years to Life

NORWALK (CNS) - A 21-year-old man who fatally beat his 9-month-old daughter and sexually assaulted his wife in South Gate was sentenced today to 50 years to life in prison.

   Jose Tulio Deras was convicted March 7 of second-degree murder and assault on a child causing death,  along with sodomy by use of force on his wife.

   Deras fatally beat his daughter, Valerie, on Jan. 15, 2011, because she was crying, said Deputy District Attorney Heba Matta. The defendant punched the baby in the chest and hit her in the back of the head with a sneaker, the prosecutor said.

When Deras' wife came home, the two fought, and he tied her up and sodomized her, Matta said.

After the attack, Deras went to a car, where he had hidden the baby's body, and brought her inside, where his wife persuaded him to untie and to try to revive their daughter. She fled to a nearby auto body shop, where a 911 call was made, the prosecutor said.

   The defendant, who is from El Salvador, fled to Mexico after the murder and was turned over to U.S. authorities four days later. The jury deliberated about 10 minutes before finding him guilty.

   Deras' wife, who is involved in divorce proceedings, told Norwalk

Superior Court Judge Philip H. Hickok that 'justice has been done on behalf of my daughter.''

But she said she still doesn't feel satisfied "because nothing, not him even spending so much time in jail, is going to return my daughter to me.''

The mother added that she hoped Deras will "remember everything he took away from me.''