A 7-month-old boy suffered broken ribs, a skull fracture and other abuse at the hands of his father, a Camp Pendleton Marine, before he died last week, prosecutors allege.
Stanford Morocho, 22, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and assault of a child under 8 resulting in death in connection with his son’s killing. He entered the plea as his estranged wife and people close to her filled the North County courtroom.
Deputy District Attorney Ryan Saunders told the judge between Dec. 2 and Dec. 12, Morocho had custody of his infant son.
According to the prosecutor, the Marine abused his child at various times over those ten days.
“The defendant used various forms of physical abuse on his 7-month-old child that resulted in a fractured skull, fractured ribs on both sides of the child’s body, bruising all over his body and his face,” Saunders said in court.
Early Friday morning, the baby was brought to the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton for those injuries, as well as internal bleeding.
When doctors started examining the child, they thought the injuries were suspicious and notified Oceanside police, who opened up an investigation. Morocho was arrested later that day.
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The child was transferred to Rady Children’s Hospital, where he ultimately died.
Saunders said the motive for the alleged crime is not known at this time.
Morocho is being held on a $5 million bail, and he faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. He is scheduled to be next in court on Dec. 26.
