SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A Longwood father who killed his 3-year-old daughter and slashed his 12-year-old’s throat at their home in July 2022 pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder and attempted murder charges.
Juan Bravo-Torres, 39, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after making a plea deal with prosecutors for the state to waive the death penalty. Bravo-Torres told the court he felt his family was falling apart, leading him to stab the two girls.
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According to Bravo-Torres’ attorney, Bravo-Torres discovered his wife was having an affair and did not want his daughters to be with another man. The attorney also said the victims’ family was strongly against the death penalty, which is how the plea deal was made.
His wife spoke in court and said she did not want her surviving child to hate her father.
State Attorney Phil Archer released a statement after Bravo-Torres entered the plea.
“We believe that (Bravo-Torres’) horrific, calculated, and premeditated actions in the killing of (the victim) are deserving of asking a jury to impose the death penalty. However, in reaching this difficult decision we placed great weight on the desire of the mother to consider the potential trauma a trial would impose on her daughter. Our law enforcement partners supported this resolution and as a result my office has filed its intent to waive the death penalty in exchange for a guilty plea and life sentence. However, we will vigorously contest any effort to parole, pardon or release (Bravo-Torres) prior to his death in state prison, should it ever arise.”
State Attorney Phil Archer
The state attorney’s office said in August it would seek the death penalty due to several aggravating factors, including accusations that the felony was “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” and the victim was a child under 12 years of age.
According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the man’s 12-year-old daughter walked to a nearby McDonald’s where her mother worked for help after her throat was slashed.
State of Fl v Juan Bravo-Torres (2022-CF-001764-A) Pool camera required at today's 1:30 pm plea hearing at the Criminal Justice Center in Sanford. Judge Melissa Souto presiding.
— Michelle Kennedy (@PIOFLCourts18) January 11, 2023
A 911 call released by the department was made by an employee at the McDonald’s.
“She’s covered in blood, drenched in blood, and (she has) bruises and cuts,” a man tells the 911 operator.
According to an affidavit for an arrest warrant, the 12-year-old girl told police she was sleeping when Bravo-Torres came at her with a knife and slashed her throat.
The affidavit said the girl found her 3-year-old sister in the hallway and, after Bravo-Torres returned with another knife, the two sisters fought back and she “acted dead” to get him to stop attacking. Police said Bravo-Torres took the girls into the bathroom, where he cut his own wrists and throat.
According to the affidavit, the 12-year-old girl waited for Bravo-Torres to lose consciousness before walking nearly a mile to the McDonald’s to tell her mother what happened.
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