Aliza Trujillo-Reighard

 

 

 

 

 

 

On February 1, 2003 Laura Trujillo brought the badly beaten body of her two year old daughter, Alize Trujillo-Reighard to the emergency room, where she was then pronounced dead. Aliza had been abused for more than six months before her death. Police were called to the home on numerous occasions prior to Aliza's death, including a report from a maintenance worker who said Alize had a bulging black eye and was sleeping on a mattress inside a small walk in closet.

 

Aliza’s mother was confined to a wheelchair she contended she took painkillers and fell asleep the night Aliza was killed, and the next morning she found her daughter on the floor not breathing. Trujillo's defense included accusations that her live in boyfriend, Randy Ramirez was responsible for the beatings. Ramirez admitted to long term abuse of Alize, including the blow that led to her death. Ramirez said he punched Aliza in the stomach because she came into the couple's bedroom and dropped food on the floor. Ramirez then literally took his arm back and gave her a blow to the stomach that was so hard it ruptured every organ between her little belly button and her spine.

 

 Ramirez' mother says there was no excuse but adds that her son  was under a lot of stress taking care of Alize and Trujillo, who was shot by a man looking for drugs. Trujillo was convicted of reckless child abuse resulting in injury, a class one misdemeanor. She was sentenced to two years for not trying to help her daughter. Ramirez was sentenced to 30 years in prison.