Prosecutor: La Habra man beat stepdaughter, 4, to death
Defense argues that girl's mother is responsible for inflicting fatal injuries

Thursday, April 30, 2009
By LARRY WELBORN
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA – A prosecutor asked an Orange County jury today to convict a La Habra man of murder for the beating death of his 4-year-old stepdaughter.

Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin contends that Rodrigo Soto, 26, had control and custody of Madison Haley Greenlee on Oct. 19, 2005 – the day the little girl died – and is responsible for inflicting the fatal injuries.

Yellin said that Soto was supposed to be caring for Madison while her mother, Kiera Risch, 37, did clerical work for a construction company.

Soto phoned Risch the afternoon of Oct. 19 and told her that the girl was unconscious, Yellin argued, before he dialed 911 at Risch's insistence.

But the girl was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

A pathologist testified that Madison sustained between 75 and 100 injuries in the days and weeks before her death, including at least one fatal blow to the head and one fatal blow to her torso.

Risch pleaded guilty earlier to one count of child endangerment, for leaving the girl in Soto's care, and served a year in the county jail, and then testified against Soto.

Defense attorney Roger Sheaks argued that the fatal injuries were at least 24 hours old by the time paramedics arrived and were inflicted by Risch.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/risch-soto-fatal-2384269-girl-one