CROWN POINT, Ind. — An Indiana judge sentenced a man to 22 years in prison on Friday, accepting the terms of a plea agreement in the death of a five-month-old girl.
The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported that 26-year-old Efrain Gonzalez pleaded guilty in October to one count of battery resulting in death of a person less than 14 years old.
The child’s mother has said she put her daughter, Anayelli Avina, down for a nap and was in the shower when Gonzalez injured the baby on Sept. 29, 2020. The child died at a hospital on Oct. 5, 2020.
Yecenia Del Real testified that Gonzalez told her and her family that the injuries were an accident. Prosecutors said investigators have not learned exactly what happened to the baby but know she suffered severe blunt force trauma.
“Never in my life did I think that anybody would kill my baby intentionally,” Del Real said. “I’m sorry to my family for thinking there was no such thing as monsters.”
Judge Natalie Bokota accepted the plea agreement.
“To lead her to believe that it was an accident is truly one of the most selfish things I have ever heard of in my life,” Bokota said.
Gonzalez apologized to Del Real and other family members of the infant girl, saying he was using drugs and wasn’t in his “right mind.”
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
Other stories on WHAS11.com
