Mother sent to prison for child-abuse homicide

AMERICAN FORK — Despite one last attempt to avoid prison, a mother convicted in the death of a 5-month-old baby was sentenced Tuesday to one to 15 years behind bars.

Daniella Ruiz, 27, was convicted by a 4th District Court jury in November of child-abuse homicide, a second-degree felony, after Brandon Zamora died while in her care on Jan. 4, 2006.

Although it leaves four young children without a mother, the judge said that this is the type of case that merits prison, not probation, said prosecutor Chad Grunander.

Ruiz said she called 911 in January 2006 when she discovered Brandon wasn't breathing.

Brandon was rushed to Primary Children's Medical Center, where doctors discovered bleeding of the brain and eyes, a dent in his skull and spinal injuries. He died the next day.

Defense attorney Shelden Carter argued that Brandon, who had no outer signs of abuse, was suffering from an internal bleeding disorder that caused his death.

However, Grunander argued that Brandon's injuries were the result of a violent shaking episode and abuse inflicted by Ruiz.

Mortensen affirmed Tuesday that Brandon died from an injured and swollen brain and rejected Carter's argument of a fatal cranial bleeding from a disorder, Grunander said.

Carter had argued that the jury's guilty verdict be dismissed, because he believed one of the witnesses misspoke about a potentially exculpating medical exam. He was also concerned that another medical test was not conducted.

However, after reviewing certified transcripts of the trial, Judge David Mortensen affirmed Tuesday that doctors clearly represented which tests were and were not done.

The one test not done was optional and left to the discretion of the professionals in the hospital's intensive-care unit, Grunander said.

The sentence finally brings some closure to the Zamora family, who chose not to attend the sentencing Tuesday, Grunander said.

"They are pleased to have it finished," he said. "(It's been) almost three and a half years since his death."

Since the case began, the couple has had another baby boy who is healthy and doing well, Grunander said.

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com