Gutierrez guilty in death of Battle Ground 3-year-old

After months of growing exasperation, an “innocent event apparently broke the dam of frustration” that led Ricardo Gutierrez Jr. to kill his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son, a judge said Thursday.

Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis found Gutierrez, 41, guilty of first-degree murder in the beating death of Jose “Pepe” Castillo-Cisneros, with an aggravating factor that Pepe was a particularly vulnerable victim. The finding allows for a longer-than-normal sentence if the judge sees fit.

Gutierrez was also found guilty of second-degree assault for injuries he inflicted on Pepe’s mother, Yadira Cisneros, who desperately tried to stop the attack May 23, 2016, at their Battle Ground home. Gutierrez was Cisneros’ live-in boyfriend but not Pepe’s biological father.

He is facing 23 years to life in prison. Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Golik said the state will ask for an exceptionally long sentence.

In August, Gutierrez formally waived his right to a jury trial and opted for Lewis to instead decide his fate.

Lewis reached his decision after hearing nearly 3½ days of testimony. He deliberated for about 15 minutes before handing down the guilty verdicts.

Gutierrez will be sentenced Feb. 13. The hearing is expected to take half a day. Gutierrez’s defense attorney, Edward Leroy Dunkerly, plans to call a mental health expert to testify on his client’s behalf.

Alleged motive

During Golik’s closing argument Thursday morning, he said, “There could be no question in anyone’s mind that (Gutierrez’s) intention was to kill Pepe.” He argued the motive was clear.

Gutierrez and Cisneros had a troubling relationship. Gutierrez was “fixated on the idea that she wasn’t faithful” and even had her under surveillance. “These are not normal behaviors,” Golik said.

Gutierrez was also upset with Pepe, whose developmental delays made him nonverbal. He often communicated by screaming and crying.

Golik argued that Gutierrez knew Pepe was developmentally delayed, and his outbursts stemmed from those issues. Gutierrez was repeatedly told by people that he needed to be patient with the boy; but he didn’t care, Golik said.

He formed the intent to kill Pepe that night, because he didn’t like the boy, Golik said, and knew killing him would inflict the most possible pain on Pepe’s mother.

The day leading up to the beating had been normal, Dunkerly said, until Pepe started crying over a movie. Gutierrez lost control and committed the assault in a matter of minutes, he said.

Ruling

In handing down his verdict, Lewis told prosecutors he did not agree with the motives they presented. There was no evidence, he said, to suggest Gutierrez killed Pepe as a form of punishment for Cisneros.

Gutierrez’s relationship with Pepe was “not good but complicated,” Lewis said. There were times he tried to understand the boy and other times when he was hateful toward him.

Lewis said it’s much more likely the slaying stemmed from what the defense had presented — building frustration, fatigue and financial pressure. Gutierrez’s frustration with Pepe ebbed and flowed, and he finally snapped.

However, Lewis argued that Gutierrez did not lose control when he snapped; he made the decision that “he was going to be done with Pepe by killing him.”

It was clear from testimony and statements Gutierrez reportedly made during the beating that “he was going to keep the boy quiet; he was sick of him,” Lewis cited. Gutierrez recognized he was going to kill Pepe and threatened to kill Cisneros, too, if she didn’t stop intervening.

Lewis said that although Gutierrez’s decision was formed out of anger, it was “unfathomable.”

Additionally, Lewis found that Pepe was a particularly vulnerable victim, not because of his developmental delay, but because he was a 3-year-old child.