An unemployed Aurora man who admitted he became frustrated when his 5-month-old daughter wouldn’t stop crying and refused to drink from a bottle was sentenced Monday to 28 years in prison for her murder.Joel Chavez, 28, of the 1000 block of Terrace Lake Drive, was convicted in March of first-degree murder in the death of Julyssa Chavez, who died from numerous injuries.
Assistant DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph Lindt said that Chavez caused the fatal injuries on Jan. 12, 2009 by violently shaking the child and then throwing her against a wall, causing numerous
broken bones, several
skull fractures and severe brain damage. She died the following day at Loyola University Medical Center in
Maywood.
A Cook County medical examiner’s autopsy said the child had older injuries along with the ones suffered just before her death.
Chavez admitted shaking the child, but claims he never intended to kill her. He told police that he threw the child onto a bed and she bounced into the wall.
“You took your anger out on an irritable child,†said Judge George Bakalis. “When a parent kills a child, it goes against everything that is supposed to be right in society.â€
When he found Chavez guilty during a bench trail, Bakalis had said that although Chavez didn’t mean to kill the child, he should have known that his actions could have caused her death.
Lindt said Chavez wanted out of his marriage and wanted to return to his native Mexico.
Chavez, who has no criminal record, faced 20 to 60 years in prison and will serve 100 percent of his sentence.
