Albert Lea man agrees to 25-year sentence for toddler’s murder
(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: Austin Michael Navarro’s plea petition says he agreed to a 300-month, or 25-year sentence for the murder of 2-year-old Ahziyas Dampha.
Navarro agreed to serve an aggravated, or harsher-than-usual sentence, based on the child’s age, his position of authority over Ahziyas, and the “particular cruelty” of the injuries that killed the toddler.
Emma Sullivan, Ahziyas’s mother, said Navarro had to admit to killing the toddler during his hearing on Wednesday, and hearing him take responsibility brought some closure to her and her family.
“[Navarro] saying, he did it, its almost kind of like closure. Not a hundred percent, obviously, but it does bring a piece of closure,” Sullivan said.
Navarro’s plea agreement also states he’ll be sentenced to a concurrent 32 months for 3rd-degree assault, with credit for time already spent in Freeborn County custody.
“This was someone that we thought we could trust, and when this happened literally everyone’s world just fell apart,” Treina Becker, Ahziyas’s aunt, said.
Previous reporting revealed that Navarro had been convicted of multiple counts of assault, including domestic assault.
The family is now hoping to move forward, and will continue honoring and remembering Ahziyas by making sure his siblings remember him in the best way possible.
Navarro’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
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(ABC 6 News) – An Albert Lea man pleaded to the murder of a 2-year-old.
Austin Michael Navarro, 26, pleaded guilty to 2nd-degree murder and 3rd-degree assault of a child under four in Freeborn County Court Wednesday, Sept. 18.
RELATED: Family of deceased toddler speaks on grief – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com
The details of Navarro’s plea agreement were not immediately available.
Navarro was previously charged with sexually assaulting another Freeborn County inmate during his incarceration. The sexual assault charge was dropped Monday, Sept. 16, due in part to the alleged victim’s inability to testify.