A man living in Gwinnett County who fled to Mexico after he killed his 2-year-old daughter will remain in prison after the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld his murder conviction and life prison sentence.
The unamimous decision in the case of Christian Vasquez was handed down Monday morning.
Vasquez was found guilty in a December 2016 trial in Gwinnett County on a list of charges, including malice murder, in the death of Prisi Vasquez. The child's body was found wrapped in garbage bags in the attic of a Lawrenceville home being rented by the family; the body had been in the attic for more than a year before it was discovered.
Christian Vasquez argued in his appeal that the State failed to present sufficient evidence to support his conviction on a charge of cruelty to children in the first degree based on his failure to seek medical care for Prisi. He also argued he received ineffective assistance of counsel from his trial attorney. In addition, Vasquez argued the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury.
The court rejected all of Vasquez's arguments. The opinion, written by Justice Charles J. Bethel, said the court found the evidence at trial "was sufficient to authorize a rational jury to find Vasquez guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of each of the crimes for which he was convicted."
The child's mother, Amy Ruiz, also fled the country with Vasquez. She later called a relative to report Prisi's death and told them where the child's body was hidden. Ruiz turned herself in to authorities at the Texas-Mexico border in September 2009. She was convicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, cruelty to children in the first degree and concealing the death of another. Her case had no bearing on the arguments before the court, according to a statement from the court.
To read the 44-page opinion from the Supreme Court of Georgia on the Vasquez case, follow this link.
