1dayatatime
04-21-2005, 12:25 PM
Man Who Hanged Toddler From Shower Rod Gets Prison Time
POSTED: 7:57 am EDT April 21, 2005
NEW YORK -- A man who hanged his 2-year-old son from a shower curtain rod to get revenge against the boy's mother was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years to life in prison.
Juan Batista, 28, showed no emotion as the judge handed down the sentence. He pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder.
Prosecutor Robert Masters told the court no amount of prison time was adequate for the 2003 killing of Omar Arias.
"When his son was in most need of a father, he found the cold, cruel, deliberate hand of a murderer," Masters said. "(Batista's) hatred for the mother of his own flesh and blood was greater than any affection he had for his child."
Batista and the toddler's mother had broken up after a four-year relationship, and he had asked to take the boy overnight following a confrontation with her new boyfriend.
Prosecutors said he took the child to a motel, hanged him with an extension cord on the shower rod and went to the front desk to report what he had done.
The toddler's mother, Alexandria Arias, asked a relative to read her statement to the court. It said: "There is no punishment that can bring back my beautiful angel to me."
POSTED: 7:57 am EDT April 21, 2005
NEW YORK -- A man who hanged his 2-year-old son from a shower curtain rod to get revenge against the boy's mother was sentenced Wednesday to 22 years to life in prison.
Juan Batista, 28, showed no emotion as the judge handed down the sentence. He pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder.
Prosecutor Robert Masters told the court no amount of prison time was adequate for the 2003 killing of Omar Arias.
"When his son was in most need of a father, he found the cold, cruel, deliberate hand of a murderer," Masters said. "(Batista's) hatred for the mother of his own flesh and blood was greater than any affection he had for his child."
Batista and the toddler's mother had broken up after a four-year relationship, and he had asked to take the boy overnight following a confrontation with her new boyfriend.
Prosecutors said he took the child to a motel, hanged him with an extension cord on the shower rod and went to the front desk to report what he had done.
The toddler's mother, Alexandria Arias, asked a relative to read her statement to the court. It said: "There is no punishment that can bring back my beautiful angel to me."