SAN ANTONIO – Christopher Davila is now one step closer to seeing his day in court. On Tuesday, defense attorneys denied a 50-year plea deal offered by prosecutors, saying the punishment is too stiff.
Davila is in jail on charges related to the January 2019 death of his 8-month-old stepson, King Jay Davila.
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The infant died after falling from a bed while sitting in a car seat that he was not correctly strapped into, investigators say.
Davila is accused of staging a kidnapping with the help of his mother, Beatrice Sampayo, and his cousin, Angie Torres.
Davila later led investigators to King Jay’s body, which had been buried in a backpack on the Northeast Side, investigators say.
Davila faces several charges, including serious bodily injury to a child by omission, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse.
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Defense attorneys say the charges do not amount to the punishment offered in Tuesday’s plea deal.
“In an offense like injury to a child, he would have to serve one half of whatever sentence he might receive. So if he got 50 years, he would have to serve 25 years just to be eligible for parole. That doesn't mean he will get parole,” said Robert Behrens, a defense attorney.
Jury selection is the next step in Davila’s trial, which is expected to begin in early March.
Sampayo and Torres face tampering with evidence charges.