Mother guilty in torture death of 5-year-old daughter gets 45 years in prison
SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A mother guilty of torturing her daughter to death will spend decades in prison after she was sentenced on Monday.
Mercedes Losoya, 5, was killed in February 2022 as a result of what was ruled extreme physical abuse. Her mother, Katrina Mendoza, was sentenced to 45 years in the 187th District Court. It was the maximum sentence allowed following the child’s death.
Mendoza now joins her ex-boyfriend, Jose Ruiz, as the two people found guilty in the child’s death.
KSAT-12 reports Ruiz was given a life sentence behind bars, and testimony given by Mendoza was part of a plea deal that led to her charge of injury of a child with serious bodily injury.
The defense tried to paint Mendoza as being remorseful for Losoya’s death, but the prosecution hammered down on its stance that the mother chose to keep her children in the presence of Ruiz despite other options involving family. Mendoza was also accused of avoiding interactions with Child Protective Services and keeping the children away from school to avoid accountability.
