On the 14th of February, 2002, in New Mexico, Brianna Lopez was born. Soon after, she was taken home to the small trailer
On the 14th of February, 2002, in New Mexico, Brianna Lopez was born. Soon after, she was taken home to the small trailer where her parents, Andrew Walters and Stephanie Lopez, lived along with her uncle, Steven Lopez, as well as three other adults and two young children. And from the moment she was taken inside that trailer she was ab*sed...
It started with the newborn baby being screamed at whenever she would cry, this turned into pinching, biting, and slapping. Things only continued to get worse however (which I hate that this is even possible for an innocent child, what she was already suffering was bad enough). Brianna would be kicked, punched, and thrown around the home... and when the baby understandably cried in pain, her 'parents' and uncle would laugh and ignore her, they wouldn't comfort her, or make sure she was ok.. they would just leave her crying and laugh about what they had done!!! As time went on, and by this I mean just a few weeks after she was born, Brianna's father and uncle began s*xually assaulting the tiny infant... every day of her short life, this tiny baby suffered, and it breaks my heart to know that is all she ever knew...
Then, on July 18th, her suffering finally came to an end...
Her parents and uncle had been drinking and Stephanie claims she went to bed, leaving her daughter in the 'care' of the two men (who she knew were physically and s*xually assaulting the 5 month old almost daily). The next morning she woke up to her daughter crying and noticed that she was covered in fresh cuts and bruises and seemed to be more limp and weak than usual, which she ignored, and when her 'father' changed her diaper, despite being able to see that the baby girl was suffering, he molested her.
Later that morning, a 911 call was made by Stephanie who stated that her 5 month old had fallen from a high chair and was not breathing. Paramedics arrived at the scene (and I have no doubt they instantly doubted the story) but there was nothing they could do and at 11:10am on July 19th, 2002, Baby Brianna was pronounced dead.
The autopsy found that Brianna had multiple broken bones, including her arms, legs, and ribs, she was also covered in cuts, bite marks, and bruises in various stages of healing. There were tears to her vagina and anus due to the s*xual ab*se she had suffered, signs that she had been v*olently shaken at least twice, and she had two skull fractures and bleeding on the brain. Unsurprisingly, the medical examiner ruled that she had suffered prolonged abuse and ruled her d*ath, which was caused by cranial cerebral injuries, a homicide.
Her father, Andrew, was charged with child abuse resulting in d*ath and felony sexual penetration of a minor, while Stephanie and Steven were charged with child abuse resulting in death. Two other adults who had been living in the home, Brianna's grandmother, Patricia Walters, and another uncle, Robert Walters Jr. were both charged with failure to report child abuse or child neglect, and the other children were taken into protective custody.
The trials, which were moved to a different county, began in September 2003. The prosecution admitted that all of the adults had known about the abuse and had done nothing to protect the child, while the defense lawyers argued that none of their clients knew who had caused the fatal injuries.
Testimony was then given by a detective who had interviewed Steven (the uncle) who admitted to s*xually abusing Brianna and also to, on the night prior to her d*ath, playing 'a game' with Andrew in which they threw Brianna repeatedly into the air slamming her on the ceiling and then letting her fall to the floor. Forensic evidence was also presented which showed that there were at least two adult teeth impressions in the 15 bite marks found on the five month olds body and that Brianna's bl*od had been found in Andrew's underwear.
In the end, the Jury found Steven and Andrew guilty of sexual assault of a minor and child abuse resulting in death (amongst other charges). Steven was sentenced to 57 years and Andrew to 63. Stephany was convicted of child abuse resulting in death and a lesser abuse charge (she was found not guilty of intentional child abuse... WTF) and was handed just 26 years in prison. Patricia and Robert were found guilty of not reporting the abuse, though I have not been able to find what they were sentenced to, if they served any time at all.
I am sure you will all hate to hear that Stephany was released in 2016 on good behavior, which I am sure you agree is infuriating.
One of the saddest things about this case is that there is not a single living picture of Brianna... the only pictures out there of her are those which were taken after her death!!

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