SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (TCN) — A 36-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for killing his 8-month-old daughter in 2020.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced the sentencing of Jesse Manuel Figueroa on May 29. He was convicted in the infant’s death earlier this year.
On July 4, 2020, the child known as Baby Raina was in Figueroa’s care. He brought to her a fire station because she was unconscious and had blood coming from her nose. She was later transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead after several days of lifesaving measures. Medical staff at the hospital noted there was a bruise on the baby’s face in the shape of an adult’s hand.
According to the DA, investigators learned that Figueroa beat and strangled Raina’s mother and abused their other two toddlers by forcing them to kneel on rice as a punishment. At the time of Baby Raina’s death, there was a restraining order against Figueroa that barred him from being alone with her.
Law & Crime reports that on the day of Baby Raina’s death, Figueroa had reportedly convinced the child’s mother to allow him to bring the baby to a family barbecue.
An autopsy found the baby died of blunt force trauma to the head “so hard it caused her brain to dislodge and move to a different part of her head,” according to the DA. Her death was ruled a homicide.
In a victim impact statement, Baby Raina’s grandfather said, “Raina mattered. Her life mattered. She was not just a name in a case file. She was a baby who was deeply loved and who should still be here today.”
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