Grand Jury Returns Murder, Torture And Sexual Abuse Charges In Noah Cuatro Case

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LOS ANGELES — A couple has been indicted on murder charges in connection with the death of their 4-year-old son in Palmdale last summer.

A grand jury returned the indictment against Jose Maria Cuatro Jr., 28, and Ursula Elaine Juarez, 26, on January 23 for one count each of murder and torture.

Cuatro also faces one count each of assault on a child causing death and sexual penetration with a child under the age of 10, while Juarez also faces one count of child abuse under circumstances likely to cause death.

Both defendants are accused of killing Noah Cuatro on July 5, 2019, at their Palmdale apartment. Jose Cuatro allegedly sexually assaulted his son on the same date.

Over a four-month period beginning last April, the couple is accused of torturing the boy, according to the indictment.

AOL reported: Eva Hernandez, the boy’s maternal great-grandmother, revealed that he was first removed from his mother’s care when he was just a baby. The toddler then spent three months in and out of foster care before Hernandez took him in.

Six months later, a court ordered that Noah be returned to his parents. Following allegations of neglect, however, the 4-year-old was again placed in foster care and later transferred back to Hernandez. The great-grandmother told KTLA that, for the next two years, the child lived stably, but she acknowledged she constantly worried about Ursula’s ability to care for him during the mother’s visits.

“‘Grandma,'” Hernandez recalled Noah telling her once. “‘You can’t let me go. You can’t let me go.’ He’s looking at me, begging me not to let him go, and I had to let him go.”

Bail is recommended at $4 million for Cuatro and $3 million for Juarez.

If convicted as charged, Cuatro faces a possible maximum sentence of 47 years to life in state prison and Juarez could face up to 32 years to life in prison.

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