RI Supreme Court upholds 2013 sentence in daughter’s death

Jorge DePina is sentenced in the beating death of his daughter, Aleida May 16, 2018. Pool photo by Sandor Bodo / The Providence Journal

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The Rhode Island Supreme Court has upheld a Pawtucket man’s second-degree murder conviction for the 2013 beating death of his 10-year-old daughter.

The high court rejected arguments that the Superior Court to present video footage of the hours leading up to Aleida DePina’s death, the Providence Journal reported.

Jorge DePina’s lawyer argued in December that the seizure of a camera was outside of the scope of the court-approved warrant and that the camera and videos should be suppressed.

Retired Pawtucket Detective Donti Rosciti testified that he seized the camera executing a second warrant to search DePina’s apartment for “anything that may be used to swing or strike.” Rosciti said the camera matched all criteria given by the medical examiner.

Months after the seizure detectives secured a third warrant to extract the contents of the camera, which contained footage of the abuse inflicted on the child before her death.

 

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