Belinda Magana is a woman from California who was sentenced to death for the murder of a two year old girl.
Belinda Magana and her boyfriend Naresh Narine were watching the two year old girl when she was scalded with hot water. Instead of getting the little girl help they allowed her to suffer, beat her when she begged for help and eventually die from her injuries
Belinda Magana and Naresh Narine would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
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Belinda Magana is currently incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility
Belinda Magana Sentenced To Death
The mother of a Corona toddler, who was scalded, denied medical care and beaten when he cried in pain for days until he died, continued to deny she was responsible for his death in a hearing Friday, May 1, where she was sentenced to death for the 2009 horrific crime.
Belinda Magana, 29, sniffled and spoke briefly about her son Malachi Magana’s death as one of her defense attorneys, Darryl Exum, put his hand on her shoulder.
In a separate sentencing that followed, Naresh Narine, who turned 43 a day earlier, chose not to speak. Narine was Belinda Magana’s boyfriend at the time of the crime and was a father figure to the toddler.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz read the results of his independent review that supported the recommendation of separate juries for each defendant that they be sentenced to death, and ordered that they be transported to state prison
Schwartz called the conduct of Belinda Magana and Narine “repulsive and disgusting” in the suffering of the child.
If the incident had not occurred, the judge said Malachi would be about 7 or 8. “He would have been in school, playing with friends getting ready for summer vacation, Schwartz said.
Sentencing hearings allow time for victims, their families and friends to give victim impact statements. No one appeared to speak for Malachi.
When asked outside court after the sentencing who would speak for the young victim, Senior Deputy District Attorney Daima Calhoun, who was the lead prosecutor in the trial, said, “Me and the jury. The jury speaks for him” by their verdicts.
Belinda Magana and Narine were found guilty in January of first-degree murder, torture, mayhem and child abuse in the boy’s death.
Before the judge imposed the sentence, Belinda said, “I just wanted to say to my family and everybody else that I’m truly sorry for the part that I did….Regardless of what anybody said, I didn’t kill my son.”
According to testimony, Malachi was scalded in a shower and other than his mother applying an ointment, the defendants did not seek medical help because they feared getting in trouble. Belinda Magana said the injury occurred while she and Malachi’s brother, who was then age 4, were at the grocery store. Narine blamed the brother for turning on the hot water.
For the next five days, both admitted hitting and beating the boy when his cries disturbed them. Experts concluded blunt force trauma to his head and complications of the scalding burn injuries contributed to his death.
That day during a Mother’s Day picnic at a Corona park, they reported him missing. Under Corona police questioning, Belinda Magana finally admitted what happened and led them to her son’s shallow grave.
Belinda and Narine drove to a party in Apple Valley and the next day buried the body near Lytle Creek in San Bernardino County.
As of April 6, the California Department of Corrections listed 84 inmates from Riverside County sentenced to death.