Fresno man will be put on trial in brutal death of 23-month-old
A Fresno man accused in the death of a 23-month-old toddler will go to trial for the crime, Fresno County Judge Brian Alvarez ruled Friday.
Gage Hurtado is charged with first-degree murder in the 2017 killing of Julius Lopez, the son of Hurtado’s former girlfriend, Nicole Lopez.
Although Hurtado’s lawyer has suggested Lopez may be the real killer, one thing is not in dispute: The child died a violent and brutal death.
Dr. Venu Gopal, Fresno County’s chief forensic pathologist, testified Friday that the child suffered several blows to the head. One of those injuries was so severe it caved in the toddler’s skull.
“The fracture caused a tremendous amount of bleeding,” Gopal said. “The left side of his head was crushed.”
The child also had various other bruises and cuts around his face, Gopal said. An injury on the toddler’s upper lip may indicate someone tried to smother the child as well, Gopal added.
The official cause of death was blunt force trauma, and the time of death was recorded at 10:15 a.m. by emergency personnel. When the child was killed remains unclear. And it could also play a significant factor in Hurtado’s defense.
Hurtado told police officer Roman Aguiniga that he came home from his night job at about 5:30 a.m. and checked on the boy before he went to bed. Hurtado said he found him sleeping peacefully, Aguiniga said.
Hurtado’s lawyer, David Mugridge, was trying to pinpoint when the child was killed. He suggested the child may have been killed before Hurtado came home, meaning his client isn’t the killer.
Gopal, however, would only say that based on his investigation the child was killed between 5:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m, although he believes it was closer to 5:30 a.m. than 10:15 am.
Prosecutor Ryan Wells said he has no doubt who the real killer is. He said Hurtado was the last one to be with the boy in the couple’s southwest Fresno apartment. Wells accused Hurtado of trying to cover up the crime, including positioning the body on the bed to make it look as though the child was sleeping.
Although Hurtado called 911, Wells said it was Hurtado who ended the child’s life in the early morning hours of Sept. 20.
“Nicole had no idea why the police were even in her home,” Wells said.
Hurtado will be arraigned on July 11 in Dept. 34.
