A Maricopa County man, Brandon Andres Bautista Torres, has been sentenced to natural life in prison for the murders of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, in June 2019, Glendale Police received a 911 call in which Torres claimed an intruder had broken into his home and shot his girlfriend and her daughter. Torres said he then took his toddler son to his parents’ house but would be returning to the scene. After returning, he came up with a new story: that he had struggled with the intruder, during which the gun discharged, and the intruder fled. When asked why it took him three hours to report the crime, Torres said he feared being blamed.
Torres pleaded guilty to one count of First-Degree Murder, a Class One Felony, and one count of Manslaughter, a Class One Felony.
Torres has a history of domestic abuse, including previous incidents in which he had threatened the girlfriend with a firearm.
“This was a horrific and cowardly act of domestic violence that claimed two innocent lives,” said County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “He no longer deserves the chance to walk freely in this community. I’m truly grateful to the Glendale Police Department and my prosecutors at MCAO who made sure he will spend his life where he belongs.”