Child’s kidneys began to fail, examiner says
The child’s kidney function was elevated, showing “an element of kidney failure at the time of death.”
Mercedes Losoya was beaten so badly and in so many places, her kidneys had begun to fail due to the breakdown of her muscles, the chief medical examiner of Bexar County said as the child injury trial of Jose Angel Ruiz continued Friday.
The fluids that infiltrated the 5-year-old girl’s body combined with other chemicals and the resulting renal failure might have caused her death, Dr. Kimberley Molina said. But she stopped short of saying the cause was definite because she could not rule out asphyxia.
Molina was testifying when the trial was delayed when Ruiz’s lead counsel, Theresa Connolly, became ill.
Ruiz, 27, is charged with eight counts of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury. Mercedes was the daughter of Katrina Rose Mendoza, the woman he was dating and a co-defendant in the case.
The couple took Mercedes, battered and bruised head to toe, to a South Side hospital on Feb. 7, 2022. She was not breathing, and emergency room personnel could not revive her.
Mendoza has pleaded guilty to child assault for her part in the killing of her daughter and testified Thursday under an agreement with prosecutors that limits her possible sentence to 45 years in prison.
She described the final weeks of Mercedes’ life as near-constant violence and humiliation inflicted by Ruiz. Mendoza is to be sentenced after Ruiz’s trial is finished.
Throughout the trial, defense attorneys have brought up that Mercedes had asthma, but during a hearing prior to her testimony, Molina said asthma had been ruled out as a cause of death.
Molina said Mercedes had numerous contusions, abrasions and lacerations scattered on her entire body. The bruises ranged from an inch to up to four inches wide.
Prosecutor Brittany Mitchell asked Molina for a comparison of what that meant for an adult and a child.
“Four inches on an adult arm is a portion (of the arm),” Molina told the jury. “On a child, half the arm, which would potentially affect the use of the arm.”
In addition to the bruising, scrapes, cuts and blunt trauma, Molina said, Mercedes had a healing injury on the inside of her mouth on the lower lip, and was missing teeth that corresponded to that injury.
She also described her hair as “sparse,” and said there was bruising on the scalp, but no significant injury to the brain.
Molina pointed out that Mercedes had a fracture on her spine that she said can occur with blunt force injuries and sudden overextension of the back.
Mitchell showed Molina a photograph of Mercedes’ arms, which were bound to a pole to restrict her movement. The medical examiner said that could have caused the injury.
Toxicology tests performed on Mercedes detected no illicit drugs or medications, however, the child’s kidney function was elevated, showing “an element of kidney failure at the time of death.”
She said the trauma the child endured caused a serious medical condition called rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo, which happens when damaged muscle tissue releases proteins and electrolytes into the blood that can damage the kidneys and can result in death.
Molina said it was possible the rhabdo resulted from the exertion and trauma in the muscles and added that the condition sometimes happens to military recruits in training.
Mitchell asked if the child being forced to hold up heavy objects in her hands with her arms bound to a pole for hours at a time could have contributed to the condition. Molina said yes.
“Muscle exertion and trauma together?” Mitchell asked Molina, who replied, “Yes.”
Molina added that the child had too much potassium in her blood, which was from “too many injuries” and contributed to renal failure.
Prosecutors had completed direct questioning of Molina and passed her to defense attorneys Theresa Connolly and Loraine Efron when Connolly asked state District Judge Stephanie Boyd for a break because, she said, she was having a low blood sugar issue.
Efron left the courtroom to get a protein shake and other things for Connolly as the court awaited an EMS crew. Connolly later was taken away by ambulance.
Ruiz consented to Efron continuing the cross examination of Molina, who reviewed the autopsy findings.
Boyd sent the jury home after Efron was done. The trial will resume Monday.
If convicted, Ruiz faces up to life in prison.