A judge ordered a University City man on Feb. 7 to stand trial for the murder of his 7-week-old daughter whom he claims he accidentally injured when he fell asleep in a chair and fell on top of her.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian III also ordered Jaime Javier Santillanes, 38, to stand trial for assault upon Genevieve Santillanes, which ended in her death on March 21.
The cause of death was blunt force trauma, said Police detective Don Tommy Miranda, who said he talked to the county medical examiner’s office, which prepared a report that was not issued until mid-January.
Santillanes’ attorney Brian E. Watkins, argued in the preliminary hearing that his client was holding the infant when he fell asleep and fell from a chair in the living room of the townhome in the 3700 block of La Jolla Village Drive.
Watkins said Santillanes weighed about 250 pounds at the time, and he fell upon her head on the 1-inch carpeted floor. That accident caused her fatal injuries, argued Watkins.
Dr. Mallory McPhee, a pediatrician at Rady Children’s Hospital who examined the victim, said the injuries were consistent with a fall off a building several stories high. McPhee said the injuries could not occur from a fall the way that Watkins described in court.
McPhee told Harutunian her diagnosis was from “abusive head trauma” that resulted in multiple fractures of the skull. The tot died of her injuries on March 21.
The child’s mother was not called as a witness and is not suspected of any involvement. She was not home at the time and it was Santillanes who called 911 at 10:07 p.m. to report a non-breathing infant.
Deputy District Attorney Erin Casey urged the judge to order him to stand trial for murder, saying there was “clear evidence” that Santillanes had care of the child at the time of the injury.
As to the description of the cause of the injury by Watkins, Casey said “That was not a plausible view of how that (occurred).”
“This is a huge leap with no connection,” countered Watkins, saying there was not enough force shown to have caused the injuries.
Watkins said the pediatrician “didn’t know how much force was needed” to cause the injuries. He said there was “no evidence of an assault.”
Watkins unsuccessfully urged the charges be dismissed due to “insufficient evidence.”
Harutunian said the explanation offered by Santillanes about falling off the chair might be “consciousness of guilt by the defendant” in coming up with such a story.
“No intervention was possible (afterward),” said the judge, adding the conduct could have been intentional.
Santillanes pleaded not guilty at the end of the hearing. A trial date will be set on May 14. He waived his right to have a speedy trial.
Santillanes was arrested three days after the infant died, but he was no longer living with the victim’s mother. He remains in the South Bay Detention Facility without bail.
