A Bailey’s Crossroads man accused of killing his infant daughter earlier this year is set to face trial.
Misael Lopez Gomez, 28, was indicted by a grand jury this morning (Monday) on charges of aggravated murder and felony child abuse, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced.
Lopez Gomez was arrested by the Fairfax County Police Department on March 31, days after officers responded to an apartment in the 3400 block of Lake Street around 7:32 p.m. on March 27 for a report of an infant “not breathing.”
Despite attempts to resuscitate her, Lopez Gomez’s 3-month-old daughter was pronounced dead at a hospital that day.
After arresting the girl’s father, police said detectives and hospital staff found “evidence consistent with abuse” during an investigation, and an autopsy determined that she had died from blunt force trauma.
According to the commonwealth’s attorney’s office:
At a preliminary hearing in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court (JDR) earlier this month, a medical examiner for the Commonwealth testified to the extent of the injuries the baby suffered and that they led to her death. A Fairfax County Police Detective testified that the defendant admitted to law enforcement officers that he had repeatedly struck his daughter.
Following the preliminary hearing on July 8, the case was certified to a grand jury, sending it from the juvenile court to the county’s circuit court.
Lopez Gomez was initially charged with second-degree murder and child abuse, but prosecutors asked the grand jury to indict him on the more serious charge of aggravated murder “based on the facts of the case,” the CA’s office says.
In Virginia, aggravated murder can include the “willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of a person under the age of 14 by a person age 21 or older,” among other definitions. It’s classified as a Class 1 felony punishable by a mandatory sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. If the person convicted was 18 or older at the time of the crime, they wouldn’t be eligible for parole.
“Cases like this are so rare and egregious that the law recognizes the need for a higher penalty,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a press release. “My office prioritizes the prosecution of serious, violent crimes, and will use the tools that the law provides to do so.”
The date of a trial will be determined at a hearing this Thursday (July 23) in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Apartment building screenshot via Google Maps
