Arab mom pleads guilty in child's death

By CHARLES WHISENANT - The Arab Tribune
Monday, October 10, 2011 7:51 AM CDT

Hernandez

An Arab woman accused of capital murder in the January 2008 death of her 1-year-old infant pleaded guilty Thursday to aggravated child abuse. Marshall County Circuit Judge Tim Jolley sentenced her to 20 years in prison, and she will be deported when she is released.

Perla Edith Hernandez, 28, of Lowery Road has been in the Marshall County Jail since her arrest more than three years ago. Her boyfriend, Ambrocio Ramirez-Vite, 30, pleaded guilty last year to murder and aggravated child abuse in the baby's death. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years. He is not the baby's father.

An autopsy showed that the baby died of blunt force trauma to the head. The baby also had bite marks on his body.

Authorities still don't know what happened to the baby.

"Neither the mother or her boyfriend admitted what happened," Marshall County District Attorney Steve Marshall said. "The mother told hospital officials the baby fell off the bed and hit his head, but we've consulted with many experts and none of them believes that story.

"All we know is the baby died of blunt force trauma to the head, he had bruises on his face and he suffered from some kind of burns," he continued.

The case has bothered Marshall since day one.

"You have a 1-year-old baby burned, and he died from head injuries," he said. "We have worked with Marshall Medical Center North folks on this case, and they have seen some tragic cases, but this one really bothered them, too. Everyone involved in the case passionately wanted justice for this baby."

Marshall said the mother pleaded guilty but admitted to nothing.

"Her defense lawyers obtained a written statement from the boyfriend (Ramirez-Vite) in which he claimed responsibility for all the injuries to the child, but he didn't say what happened," Marshall said.

Marshall said the case wouldn't have been solved as easily without the work of hospital personnel and Arab police investigator Sgt. Dan Henry.

"They did a tremendous job in helping us," he said. "Without them, it would have been difficult to find justice for this baby."

Henry said he is glad the case is over.

"Because of the baby's age and the extent of injuries he sustained, it's just one of the worst cases I've ever seen," he said.

Henry said he is happy that Hernandez received a long prison sentence.

"She will be deported when her time is done, and if she comes back here and is caught, because she was deported as a convicted felon, she could serve 10 more years in federal prison for coming back," he said.

According to police reports, on Jan. 1, 2008, Ramirez-Vite and Hernandez brought the baby to the emergency room at Marshall Medical Center North.

He had severe bruising all over his body and died the next day.

"He had bite marks on his legs," Henry said. "And he had what appeared to be a healing burn mark on his side. The medical staff at (MMCN) tried to revive the child but was unsuccessful."

Hernandez's other two children, ages 2 and 4, had no visible injuries. They are in foster care through the Marshall County Department of Human Resources.

Arab police said the couple is in this country illegally.

"Our successful resolution to this case would not have been possible without the outstanding investigative work of Sgt. Dan Henry," Marshall stated. "Henry served as lead investigator in this case."

Marshall further commended the work of all law enforcement and other agencies that assisted in this investigation, including APD, Boaz Police Department, Marshall County Sheriff's Department, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, and his own staff.

http://www.thearabtribune.com/articles/ ... /news3.txt

As reported by the liberal Huntsville times:
Arab woman sentenced to 20 years in death of her child

Published: Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 8:57 AM Updated: Tuesday, October 11, 2011, 9:02 AM
By Region News The Huntsville Times

ARAB, Alabama -- A woman accused of capital murder in the January 2008 death of her 1-year-old child has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and will be deported upon release, the Arab Tribune reports.

Perla Edith Hernandez, 28, of Lowery Road, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated child abuse, the newspaper reported. Hernandez' boyfriend, Abrocio Ramirez-Vite, 30, pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated child abuse last year in connection with the baby's death and was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years, the newspaper reported.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/ara ... 0_yea.html
There is a poll at The Arab Tribune on the left of the article.
http://www.thearabtribune.com/articles/ ... /news3.txt

After the judge's ruling on the immigration law I am ...
Thrilled and proud (176 Votes, 52%)
Pleased (91 Votes, 27%)
Surprised and disappointed (19 Votes, 6%)
Embarrassed (52 Votes, 15%)