Mariah Alvarez

 

 

 

 

 

On February 17, 2007 paramedics found Mariah Alvarez unattended and lying on her back in the middle of the floor unresponsive, not breathing and with no pulse. Her father Robert Alvarez told police and paramedics at the scene that Mariah had fallen down some stairs. Mariah was transported to the emergency room at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas where she was pronounced dead. The condition of Mariah's body indicated that she had been severely abused. Her body was covered with new and old bruises, contusions and bite marks on her back. One of her arms had been broken probably about two to seven weeks before her death, and she was missing portions of her hair where it had been pulled out by the roots. She was dehydrated and small for her age.  Mariah indicated no apparent signs of a head injury.

 

An autopsy showed two year old Mariah died of blunt force head trauma, which would have occurred within 24 hours prior to her death, and it would have been immediately apparent that Mariah was in distress and in need of medical attention. She also had cocaine in her system at the time of her death. Mariah suffered "multiple contusions" to her head area and that "blunt force head trauma . . . basically means, beat about the head with something-an object, a hand, a fist, or slammed." Farley testified that these injuries would not have been caused by falling down some stairs and that this was the most severe case of child abuse she had ever seen.

 

Lucio was arrested the next day for the capital murder of her daughter, Mariah Alvarez. Lucio was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Lucio's husband, Robert Alvarez, was only charged with injury to a child.

 

I wish more child abuses were sentenced to death by lethal injection like Lucio or at least sentenced to life in prison for their crime. It's not fair that they can take an innocent life and still have theirs even if it is behind bars.