A 22-year old father, Fernando Vega, is facing execution for beating his newborn twin daughters, Massail and Mirena who were six week old, to death.
The incident happened at their home in Linden Creek Way, Houston at 11.15am on October 4, 2023.
In April 19, 2024 , Fernando along with his 21-year old wife and mother of the children, Angelina Belinda Calderon were arrested and initially charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child.
However, after thorough investigations, prosecutors changed Fernando’s charges to two counts of murder having been convinced he was solely responsible for the murder of the twins.
Police who stormed the residents said the twins’ skin was discolored with bruises and fractures all over their bodies.
Investigators further said the babies who were born prematurely were not given medical care by their parents.
A pathologist at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science, Dr Jesus Rico who conducted an autopsy on the children revealed that the children were dehydrated, malnourished with one having acute brain bleeding and the other a spinal cord injury indicating they had been abused prior to their death.
“These injuries are pretty severe and based on the symptoms and the injuries, he was the only person who was around these children, the only person who could have possibly inflicted these injuries,” said
Prosecutor Edward Appelbaum.
However, Fernando’s lawyer, Mario Madrid told the court at the continued trial of the matter on Wednesday that his client is not guilty of the new murder charge.
In his defence, Vega had claimed that on the day the twins died, he had dropped his wife off at work and came back home to find the twins not breathing.
He dismissed the autopsy report that the children died from injuries caused by abuse
“He’s not guilty, under the law he’s innocent at this time. We still have a long investigation to go and a lot of evidence to review,” Mario told the court.
On Calderon’s involvement in the murder, prosecutors said they are not ruling out possibilities of her also facing murder charge
She confronted Vega in court accusing him of murdering their children.
“You were the last one with my kids when they died. You are making me look like I am a bad person. I was at work when they died,” she wailed in court.
Both Calderon and Vega are currently being held at the Harris County Jail, Calderon on a $750,000 bond and Vega’s at $3 million.
