A father accused of beating his newborn twin daughters to death faces execution if convicted.
Fernando Vega, 22, was arrested on April 19 and charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child, along with his mother Angelina Belinda Calderon, 21.
His charges were upgraded to two counts of capital murder after investigators were satisfied that he was the only one who allegedly could have killed them.
Six-week-old Massail and Mirena were found dead in their home on Linden Creek Way in Houston around 11:15 a.m. on October 4 last year.
Six-week-old Massail and Mirena were found dead in their home on Linden Creek Way in Houston around 11:15 a.m. on October 4 last year.
Police said the babies were found on the couch with discolored skin, bruises on their bodies and one of the girls had fractures.
The babies were born prematurely but had not received medical care since being released from the hospital, court documents allege.
Dr. Jesus Rico, a pathologist at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, found dehydration, bruising and fractures that indicated previous abuse.
Both twins were malnourished, with one showing evidence of acute brain hemorrhage and the other also in the spinal cord, indicating recent trauma.
Prosecutor Edward Appelbaum told the court Wednesday that he wanted to investigate their deaths thoroughly before considering murder charges.
Fernando Vega, 22, was arrested on April 19 and charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child, now his charges have been upgraded to two counts of capital murder.
Angelina Belinda Calderon (pictured), 21, was also charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child.
“These injuries are quite serious 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 on them,” he said.
Appelbaum previously described the allegations as “horrible” and said there were both old and new injuries.
Vega pleaded not guilty to the original charges and his lawyer Mario Madrid said that was still the case for the murder charges.
“He is not guilty, according to the law he is innocent at this time.” “We still have a long investigation ahead of us and a lot of evidence to review,” he told the court.
An autopsy found that both twins were malnourished, with one showing evidence of acute brain hemorrhage and the other suffering from brain and spinal cord hemorrhage.
Calderon still faces only minor charges, but prosecutors have not ruled out elevating his to murder as well, as the investigation continues.
Vega claimed he dropped Calderon off at work and then returned home to find the twins were not breathing, even though an autopsy determined the children died from blunt force injuries.
He told police the twins were “restless” all night and he put them in a bassinet.
Calderon did not wake the babies in the morning because he was on his way to work, according to court documents.
Calderon’s sister told a local news station in April that she was “one of the best mothers I know” and insisted she was at work the day the children died.
Calderon had an emotional outburst during an initial probable cause court hearing
Calderon had an emotional outburst during an initial probable cause court hearing in April.
‘You were the last one with my children when they died. You’re making me look like I’m a bad person. “I was at work when they died,” he lamented.
Calderon’s aunt, Sarah Calderon, told local news that both parents needed to be held accountable for their actions.
“I’m really disappointed, it hurts, it really breaks my heart.” “Both must be held accountable,” he said.
“Because, okay, even if I don’t think she physically hurt them, like they don’t even take care of the babies.”
Calderon and Vega are being held in the Harris County Jail, Calderon on $750,000 bail and Vega on $3 million bail.
