|
0 4 - 0 2 - 2 0 0 5
Accused father talks about baby hanging
BY HERBERT LOWE
Newsday
February 3, 2005
A Queens man who allegedly hanged his baby son in a hotel shower did
so because he had intended to kill himself and did not want to leave
the boy fatherless, the man's attorney said Thursday.
"He did not want to leave his son behind the way his father left him
behind," Murray Singer said of Juan Batista, 28, of Corona, whose
father committed suicide when Batista was 12.
Singer spoke to reporters moments after a State Supreme Court judge
in Kew Gardens warned Batista to stop thwarting prosecutors' efforts
to obtain a psychological evaluation.
Authorities contend Batista had another reason for hanging
22-month-old Omar Arias at a hotel on Queens Boulevard on July 26,
2003.
Batista became enraged after seeing the boy's mother, who is his
former girlfriend, with her new boyfriend, authorities said.
Singer said, however, that Batista -- a former bodybuilder with a
history of steroid use, failed relationships and suicide attempts --
sought to save the boy after trying to hang himself in the same
room.
"He sort of snapped out when his attempt failed," Singer said.
Batista is charged with second-degree murder. If convicted, he faces
up to 25 years to life in prison.
Batista, who is being held without bail, likely intends to pursue a
defense known as extreme emotional disturbance, Singer said. If that
defense succeeds, he would be convicted of first-degree manslaughter
and face up to 25 years.
A defense psychologist evaluated Batista in October 2003, but
Assistant District Attorney Robert Masters told Justice Robert
Hanophy yesterday that Batista has failed to cooperate with the
psychologist hired by the Queens district attorney's office four
times in the past year.
"It's hard for me to open up," Batista told the judge.
Hanophy warned that he had better do so Friday. If he doesn't, the
judge said, he risks not being allowed to present expert testimony
in support of his defense at trial.
[Link]
2 2 - 0 3 - 2 0 0 5
Personal trainer pleads guilty to son's murder
BY HERBERT LOWE
March 21, 2005
Newsday.com
A Queens personal trainer who used an extension cord to hang his
young son in a hotel bathroom pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree
murder and will spend 22 years to life in prison.
Juan Batista, 28, of Corona, confessed in State Supreme Court in Kew
Gardens to hanging his 22-month-old son, Omar Arias, at a hotel on
Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst while he had custody on July 26, 2003.
Batista, a former bodybuilder with a history of steroid use, failed
relationships and suicide attempts, hung his head and said simply,
"Yes," when Justice Robert Hanophy asked if he was guilty.
Prosecutors contend Batista hung the child from a shower curtain rod
in the Crown Motor Inn. He was enraged after seeing the boy's
mother, his former girlfriend, with her new boyfriend, prosecutors
said.
Calling it a "hideous crime," Assistant District Attorney Robert
Masters said after Batista's plea that it "spared the child's mother
and her family the ordeal of having to endure what would have been
the overwhelming evidence of his guilt."
Batista's attorney, Murray Singer, declined to comment yesterday.
Previously, however, Singer said his client sought to save the boy
after trying to hang himself in the same room. Batista, whose father
committed suicide when he was 12 years old, had intended to kill
himself and did not want to leave the boy fatherless, Singer said.
If convicted of second-degree murder, Batista had faced up to 25
years to life in prison.
Batista was considering a defense known as extreme emotional
disturbance. If that defense had succeeded at trial, he could have
been convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to as much
as 25 years.
Hanophy said he would impose his sentence April 13.
[Link]
2 1 - 0 4 - 2 0 0 5
Dad who hanged
tot gets 22 to life
BY AUSTIN FENNER
New York Daily News
April 20, 2005
A man who lynched his 2-year-old son in a Queens motel
bathroom was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison
yesterday after a last-minute attempt to withdraw his
guilty plea.
Juan Batista, 28, admitted last month before Queens
Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy that he killed his
son Omar Arias in a bathroom at the Crown Motor Inn in
Elmhurst on July 26, 2003.
Prosecutors said Batista killed the tyke in an act of
jealous rage against the boy's mother.
Members of the Arias family filled the first two rows of
the gallery. But the heartbroken mom, Alexandra Arias,
was too distraught to attend, they said.
Instead, prosecutor Robert Masters read a statement to
the court on her behalf.
"I know that the decision that is going to be made today
will not give me back my little angel," Arias wrote.
"Any decision made today will not be enough punishment
for thelife taken away and for the emptiness left in
me."
Little Omar was found hanging by an extension cord from
a shower curtain rod in a bathroom of the Crown Motor
Inn. Authorities said Batista, an ex-bodybuilder, became
enraged after seeing his estranged girlfriend with her
new boyfriend.
"I didn't intentionally murder my son," Batista said
yesterday. "I want to take my plea back."
But Hanophy refused to yield, telling Batista his
heinous crime spoke for itself.
"You hung your 2-year-old baby. I hope they never let
you out," Hanophy said. "Take him away."
[Link]
|
[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
