Jury selection is scheduled to begin Wednesday for the trial of a Coachella man suspected of beating his girlfriend’s 18-month-old daughter in 2011, leaving her in critical condition.
Adan Diaz Orozco, 31, is charged with child cruelty with a great bodily injury sentence enhancement. He was arrested after his girlfriend’s daughter was hospitalized with injuries allegedly consistent with child abuse, according to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Todd Torrenti.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Paixao pushed for jury selection to begin Wednesday in order to avoid schedule conflicts with witnesses, which previously caused lengthy delays in Orozco’s trial.
About 400 jurors will be summoned to the Larson Justice Center in Indio over two days and asked to fill out a questionnaire. A jury is expected to be seated on Monday.
The victim, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents, was brought to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio with injuries that included “active bleeding upon her brain, a collapsed lung, broken ribs, a mark by her right nipple area, a burn mark on her left wrist, and bruise marks on her back, thighs and arms,” according to the prosecution’s trial brief.
Torrenti said deputies were called to the hospital by workers who suspected child abuse. The toddler was later airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Orozco initially told deputies that his brother was babysitting the girl on April 9, 2011, but later changed his story to say that he spanked the girl for misbehaving and then later accidentally struck her when she was standing behind him, causing her head to strike a wooden chair, according to the prosecution.