Palmdale parents sentenced to potential life terms for torture, murder of 4-year-old son
The parents of 4-year-old Noah Cuatro were sentenced to potential prison terms Tuesday for the July 2019 murder and torturing of the Palmdale boy.
Jose Maria Cuatro Jr., 32, was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison, while Ursula Elaine Juarez, 30, received 22 years to life for Noah's death, which was initially reported as a drowning in the family's apartment pool.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger responded to the sentencing, saying she would have liked harsher terms for both parents.
"Life sentences without the possibility of parole would have been most appropriate, in my opinion, but I respect the judicial and sentencing process," Barger said.
On March 29, Cuatro pleaded no contest to one count each of first-degree murder and torture, and Juarez pleaded no contest to one count each of second-degree murder and torture.
As part of their plea deal, both defendants waived their appellate rights.
Around 4 p.m. on July 5, 2019, the couple reported a drowning in their apartment pool. They claimed Noah had been swimming in the pool and stopped breathing. Suspicion grew when paramedics arrived and found Noah unconscious and dry in the family apartment.
The boy was taken first to Palmdale Regional Medical Center and then to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where he was pronounced dead the next day.
Hospital staff reported founding signs of trauma on Noah's body and determined there were issues with his parents' explanation for his cause of death.
One week later, a Sheriff's department investigation was underway into the boy's death. Noah's three siblings were taken into protective custody.
Two months prior to his death, there was a court order to remove Noah from his parents' custody over concerns of abuse, but he never was.
The boy's great-grandmother, Evangelina Hernandez, subsequently filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles County on behalf of herself and the boy's sister and two brothers, alleging that his death occurred after multiple reports of abuse had already been made to the Department of Children and Family Services.
"Instead of protecting Noah and his siblings, DCFS continued to place the children with their abusive parents, where the children continued to be abused over the course of several years," the suit alleges.
After Noah's death, DCFS social workers made threats against Hernandez "in an attempt to silence her," the lawsuit alleges.
The social workers told Hernandez that if she made any public statements about Noah's case and/or potential lawsuits, she would lose her request for guardianship of her other three great-grandchildren and would never see them again, the suit states.
The DCFS previously issued a statement regarding Noah's death. "At any given time, the Department of Children and Family Services serves more than 34,000 families and vulnerable children in Los Angeles County with an unwavering commitment to pursue child safety every day in our communities," the statement read. "Our 9,000 employees are committed to this mission, and we look to do everything possible to safeguard the children entrusted to our care."
