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Man accused in 2-year-old's death sentenced to 60 years

Man accused in 2-year-old's death sentenced to 60 years
11 months 4 weeks 1 day ago Tuesday, October 31 2023 Oct 31, 2023 October 31, 2023 12:05 PM October 31, 2023 in News - Local

The man accused in the death of 2-year-old Katalina Castaneda has been sentenced to 60 years in prison.

RELATED STORY: Jury to continue deliberations in Cameron County murder trial of two-year-old

A jury convicted Jorge Abundez with count 2 injury to a child, but could not reach a decision on the capital murder charge, which resulted in a hung jury.

"This was a particularly heinous and outrageous murder. The initial claim that the child fell down the stairs was bogus. The loss of Katalina’s life was senseless. I am thankful the jury sent the message that this type of behavior is abhorrent and will not be tolerated in Cameron County. We will stand up for abused children in our community. May Abundez spend every single second of his sentence knowing that he is experiencing the consequences stemming from his own awful and selfish choices," Cameron County District Attorney Luis Sanez said in a news release.

Abundez was accused of killing Castaneda back in 2017. He reportedly told investigators she fell down the stairs, but an autopsy report revealed she died of blunt force trauma.

Closing arguments and deliberations for the trial began on Monday morning. The jury deliberated for hours before they ended the day without coming to a decision. Deliberations picked back up on Tuesday.

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