Slaying charges include death of fetus

A former Honduran refugee who testified before Congress three years ago about the struggles of young immigrants was charged Monday with killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

The charge in the death of the fetus -- a girl who was named Luz Maria by her father -- is the first filed in Kent County under the state's Prenatal Protection Act, a law inspired by a Grand Rapids case.

Each charge could lead to life in prison for Edwin Lario Munoz, 19, who gained national attention in 2002 with stories about his plight as an immigrant that appeared in newspapers and in Parade Magazine. He said he was abused for months while jailed in California after illegally crossing the United States border from Mexico.

Grand Rapids police obtained warrants Monday charging Lario Munoz with felony murder in the Oct. 14 strangulation of Silvia Sanchez-Parada, 27, at a home at 848 Baxter St. SE. They also charged him with assault on a pregnant person with intent to cause miscarriage or stillbirth.

He already faced a charge of attempted murder for allegedly attacking Sanchez-Parada's husband, Leoncio Garcia-Lopez, with a knife and meat fork after the husband discovered her body. Police said they might drop the attempted murder charge.

The victim's family is Catholic and believes that the death of a fetus should be treated like murder, said family friend Maria Barriga.

"He killed a baby, whether it was inside the mother or outside the mother," Barriga said. "It's almost like aborting a baby without the mother's permission.

Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth said it is the first time his office has filed charges in a prenatal death.

"The statute is meant to address this type of situation," Forsyth said. "I don't anticipate any unusual problems. We have to prove certain elements, and, in my opinion, they have been met."

The charge is similar to second-degree murder, in which prosecutors don't necessarily have to prove he intended to kill the fetus, only that he should have known his actions could lead to death, Forsyth said.

Under the Prenatal Protection Act, in effect since Jan. 1, 1999, anyone who injures or kills a fetus, except for the mother or a doctor performing an abortion at a mother's request, can face severe criminal and civil penalties -- regardless of the fetus' stage of development.

Michigan was the 28th state in the nation to pass such a law, which was inspired by the death of a Grand Rapids woman and her unborn child in a 1995 car crash.

Last month, a Macomb County teen was sentenced to probation under the law after pleading no contest to repeatedly assaulting his girlfriend, with her consent, with a miniature baseball bat to terminate her pregnancy. The girlfriend was not charged. They fetus was buried on a farm and discovered by detectives.

In the most recent case, the victim's husband, Leoncio Garcia-Lopez, 43, said he was greeted by the suspect, who lived in an upstairs room, when he arrived home from work on Oct. 14. He discovered his wife's body on the kitchen floor with a wash cloth draped over her face. He and the suspect then struggled over a knife and a meat fork, he said.

The husband suffered numerous stab and puncture wounds before escaping with his 10-month-old son, Jonathan.

The suspect, who also suffered stab wounds, fled the house and claimed that the husband had strangled the victim before attacking him. But an autopsy showed the woman was dead before the husband returned home to discover her body, police said.

The bodies of the mother and the unborn child were shipped on Saturday to her family in southern Mexico thanks to donations by family, friends and strangers, Barriga said.

1) the Chair for him for murdering the woman

2) No charges for fetus killing. The government allows the murder of fetuses so how can they make this one stick? /irony off

What happened to him in jail was terrible and could likely have ruined him. Like a dog with rabies, sometimes you have to put it down for the good of all involved.

He's not alone in needing to be put down for the good of society.

Then again - my list of capitol crimes deserving the death penalty is a lot longer than the state or federal government's.

"Edwin Lario Munoz, 19, who gained national attention in 2002 with stories about his plight as an immigrant that appeared in newspapers and in Parade Magazine. He said he was abused for months while jailed in California after illegally crossing the United States border from Mexico."

--- Oh, come on now, he was just doing work that the local, American borns were not willing to do. All of these undocumented workers are just peace loving workers looking to improve their families economic status.

But seriously, why was this criminal still in the country after being jailed the first time?

I have to wonder though why the 'alledged' murderer was living upstairs. Did the victim family know that he was a criminal immigrant? Since she was shipped back home to sourthern Mexico, I have to wonder about their immigration status also.

Prayers for the recovery of Leonico

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