Caretaking dad on trial for death of 4-month-old girl (Las Cruces, New Mexico)

"Caretaking" father ROBERT J. FLORES is accused on intentional child abuse in the death of his four-month-old daughter. According to Flores, he left the child unattended--he put her in a laundry basket with unfolded clothes in the closet? Huh?--while he went out to buy beer. An hour later he came home, and the baby was "unresponsive" when he remembered to look for her. Mom was at work at the time.

http://www.currentargus.com/ci_12718168

Accused father moves to suppress statement made after baby's death
By Ashley MeeksFor the Current-Argus
Posted: 06/29/2009 09:42:21 PM MDT

LAS CRUCES — A motion to suppress the statement of Robert J. Flores on the night his daughter died was partially heard Friday before lunch recess by Third Judicial District Court Judge Stephen Bridgforth.

Flores, 24, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of intentional child abuse resulting in the 2007 death of his daughter, 4-month-old Kalynne Flores. A conviction is punishable by life in prison. He is free on $150,000 bond.

Flores is a former resident of Artesia, where he was a standout player for the high school football team.

A new hearing time, during which the prosecution plans to call two more Las Cruces police officers as witnesses, had not been scheduled by the end of business Friday, said District Attorney Susana Martinez.

Flores picked up his daughter from a baby-sitter the evening of Dec. 5 and bought beer on his way to the home he and Kalynne's mother, nurse Deserii Cortez, rented from Flores' maternal uncle, Las Cruces police detective Oscar Alvarado, according to court records.

Flores allegedly told police he placed his daughter in a laundry basket full of unfolded clothing and put the basket in a closet because he did not want neighbors to hear the baby cry while he was out purchasing more beer. Flores told police he was gone for about an hour and didn't immediately check on his daughter, but did so some time later and found her unresponsive.
Cortez was working at a hospital until 3:30 a.m. the night her daughter died. The state's
medical investigator ruled the child died of asphyxia.

District Attorney Susana Martinez argued Friday Flores' statements at the hospital, when he had his blood drawn about two hours after his daughter was declared dead, and to LCPD officers the morning of Dec. 6 were made freely.

"'Are you trying to determine if I'm under the influence of any medication or anything?'" Martinez said Flores asked when an LCPD officer asked to draw his blood. "And then the question back from the detective (was) 'Are you under the influence of anything?' And then that's when he had that discussion about, that he'd had some beer, that the doctor had asked him if he had been drinking, because he smelled the odor of alcohol on him."

LCPD Detective Edgar Rosa, who questioned Flores that morning, said Flores told him and his partner that after finding his daughter dead and realizing he needed to call 911, he decided "to throw out the beer, because he said it would look bad."

Flores was neither handcuffed nor patted down Dec. 6, said Rosa, who said his area of expertise was child abuse investigations.

"Compared to other parents (after accidents) ... he just wasn't showing that much emotion. He was scared about himself, but he wasn't showing that much emotion about that child," Rosa testified.

Alvarado, who said he was a Metro Narcotics agent at the time of the child's death, disputed that in testimony.

"He had his head down, seemed distraught," Alvarado said of Flores' behavior at the hospital. "You could tell he was really sad, the emotions with the loss of the baby."

Flores was arrested and charged Dec. 7, according to the criminal complaint filed in court, but defense attorney Mark Pickett, of Las Cruces, entered into evidence a form dated Dec. 6 usually used for DWI arrests to track the custody of Flores' blood draw.

"In DWI cases, it requires you to be under arrest. In this case, they used that form to show the date of blood drawn. They were improvising," Martinez said outside court.

Defense attorney Mollie McGraw argued in court that Flores "was never told he was free to leave or had the right to an attorney" and that Rosa and his partner sat almost blocking the door to Flores in the interview room.

Alvarado said under cross-examination Friday that after questioning, Flores was allowed to leave with his parents, who stayed at a hotel unknown to Alvarado but kept in touch through phone. He testified his partner told him Flores would be charged with one of several crimes, but "if I could guarantee bringing Robert (back to police) the next day, they could hold off on charges."

"He left the police department, so he obviously wasn't under arrest," Martinez said outside court. "He was told three different times throughout his interview that he was not in custody, he was free to go, he was free to terminate questioning at any time."

Flores did not testify Friday and declined to comment to the Sun-News.

The case is scheduled to go to trial July 13-17.