An illegal immigrant accused of savagely beating his 2-month-old daughter to death on Long Island did so because he couldn’t get her to stop crying, prosecutors said.
Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin, 20, pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday afternoon to allegedly flying into a violent rage on March 7 — leaving his infant daughter, Liseyda, with several broken ribs, bruises on her head, a dislocated spine, and severe hemorrhaging in her neck.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the judge grilled the baby-killer in disgust as prosecutors broke down how the enraged father of two was alone with his children when he snapped due to the non-stop crying.
“In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore,” Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly told reporters.
Rabanales-Pretzantzin allegedly grabbed his hysterical daughter and slapped her in the face multiple times, punched her in the stomach repeatedly, and then picked her up and started violently shaking.
He then allegedly threw her onto the bed, where he pressed both of his fists into her tiny body with all of his body weight, eventually killing her.
After brutally murdering his daughter, he brought her body to the home of a neighbor, who called 911 and rushed her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, officials said.
First responders were initially told that Liseyda choked on formula, but Rabanales-Pretzantzin quickly changed his story, telling police he had fallen asleep holding her and she fell off the bed onto the floor.
Eventually, police laid out the evidence and were able to get the father to confess, admitting to everything the prosecution told the judge.
Liseyda’s autopsy revealed that the infant also had prior rib fractures in healing, likely pointing to previous abuse, according to the DA.
His other child, a 14-month-old who was in the house at the time of his sister’s death, showed no signs of abuse and is now with his mother, according to the DA.
“He was given the gift of a beautiful little girl, and on March 7, he returned that gift bloodied, beaten, and dead,” Donnelly said.
Rabanales-Pretzantzin, is an illegal migrant from Guatemala, though Nassau officials do not want him deported.
“He is in the country illegally, but he will be kept here in Nassau County and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Donnelly said.
She acknowledged it is ultimately up to the federal government whether or not he gets deported before he stands trial, but Donnelly said her office and the feds are working together on this case and have every intention of trying to convict him here.
Rabanales-Pretzantzin is currently being held without bail and due back in court May 6.
Read the full article here
