MAN ADMITS FATALLY KICKING TOT.Byline: EUGENE TONG tong 1 tr.v. tonged, tong·ing, tongs To seize, hold, or manipulate with tongs. [Back-formation from tongs. Staff Writer A Glendale pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. nurse who allegedly kicked his girlfriend's 3- year-old daughter, who later died from her injuries, pleaded guilty Wednesday to assault. Joseph Alcoriza, 31, entered his plea to a charge of assault on a child causing death and faces 25 years to life in prison. Murder and torture charges stemming from the January 2005 death of Kathe Manaig were dropped. Alcoriza is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in Pasadena Superior Court, Deputy District Attorney Natalie Adomian said. A message left with Alcoriza's attorney was not returned. The girl's mother, Melanie Evangilist, cried during the hearing. She declined to address the court, Adomian said. Glendale police Detective Robert Breckenridge, who was at the hearing, said Alcoriza showed little emotion. ``He was looking mostly at his parents,'' he said. ``(Evangilist) was happy with the outcome that we didn't have to go to trial.'' Authorities said Alcoriza had beaten and kicked Kathe on Jan. 11, 2005, while Evangilist, also a pediatric nurse, was away at work. The girl died later that same day from blunt-force trauma to the abdomen abdomen, in humans and other vertebrates, portion of the trunk between the diaphragm and lower pelvis. In humans the wall of the abdomen is a muscular structure covered by fascia, fat, and skin. , according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an autopsy. Investigators believe Kathe had been vomiting vomiting, ejection of food and other matter from the stomach through the mouth, often preceded by nausea. The process is initiated by stimulation of the vomiting center of the brain by nerve impulses from the gastrointestinal tract or other part of the body. that night, which might have frustrated frus·trate tr.v. frus·trat·ed, frus·trat·ing, frus·trates 1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: Alcoriza, who lived with Evangilist in the 400 block of Milford Street. Alcoriza's then-7-year-old daughter also was home at the time, and would have had to testify against her father should the case have gone to trial. ``He decided he didn't want to put his daughter up,'' Breckenridge said. eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com (818) 546-3304 |
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