A man from New Mexico is set to spend the next 35 years in federal prison for brutally beating his 5-year-old stepdaughter to death and tossing her into the Rio Grande River.
Malcom Torres, 29, owned up to second-degree murder in April, and a judge sentenced him on Monday for the tragic demise of Renezmae Calzada. Her mom reported her missing from their home in Española, New Mexico, on September 8, 2019, while she was under Torres' care, sparking a statewide Amber Alert and an extensive search for the little girl.
Torres claimed he noticed Renezmae was missing a day earlier and spent an hour looking for her outside but chose to go back inside and drink heavily rather than calling the authorities, as per court records. He offered no help in locating her and refused to let the police check his phone. He firmly denied any involvement in her disappearance.
Three days after she vanished, officers found Renezmae's body in the Rio Grande at Santa Clara Pueblo, about five miles from her home. Prosecutors believe Torres killed her and then disposed of her body in the river. They think he did it because he resented caring for a child who wasn't his biological daughter. Fortunately, his 18-month-old son, who was in the home at the time, remained unharmed.
Renezmae suffered severe head injuries, a broken left wrist, and other injuries, described as excruciatingly painful by a child abuse expert.
As part of a plea deal, Torres agreed with the medical examiner's findings but claimed he was too intoxicated to remember what he did to his stepdaughter. Prosecutors had sought a 30-year sentence, but a judge decided to give him 35 years.
Renezmae was a lively child who loved hugging everyone she met, especially her younger brother. She adored the movie "Frozen" and wanted hair like Elsa's. Dancing while her mother cooked was one of her favorite things, particularly when it was steak and mushrooms for dinner.
During a press conference, her mother, Victoria Maestas, expressed her anger and sorrow, stating that she couldn't judge Torres but was grateful for the apology and the absence of denial. The Española community was deeply affected by the case, with artists creating a mural on the side of a fire station featuring Renezmae holding her beloved teddy bear. Her grandmother emphasized that the family would continue to raise her brother to remember his late sister and appreciate her preciousness. "We'll never, ever forget our baby girl," she said.
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