A man and his wife were arrested on a charge of murder after allegedly raping their son to death, according to police in Arkansas.
Bella Vista police said that they have arrested 46-year-old Mauricio Torres, after being accused of causing the death of his son, 6-year-old Maurice Isaiah Torres.
Mauricio has been charged with capital murder and first-degree battery. If convicted, he faces the death penalty. Maurice’s mother, 44-year-old Cathy Torres, has also been charged with capital murder.
According to the police investigation, the parents used a wooden stick to sodomize their son. Mauricio said that he did not intend to kill his son when he punished him with the stick.
Cathy also abused the child, police said. The parents said that they used to punish their daughters by taking away their candy, but that did not work with Maurice.
Maurice was then ordered to stand in a corner and when that did not help, he was sodomized with the stick. After being abused, Maurice complained of stomach pain.
He eventually died as a result of the abuse. A coroner ruled that the boy died from being raped and chronic child abuse.