In the summer of 2019, a tragedy unfolded in a Glendale, Arizona home, resulting in the death of 4-year-old Aleena Bermudez. On June 30, 2019, Aleena and her 23-year-old mother, Selina Toyos, were fatally shot. The grim discovery was made after a call to dispatchers in which two people were reported to have been shot. When officers arrived at the residence, they found the young girl and her mother deceased.
The investigation swiftly focused on Brandon Andres Bautista Torres, the
boyfriend of Aleena's mother. Initially, Torres claimed that a homeless man had entered the house and shot his girlfriend and her daughter. However, he was later arrested and indicted on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Aleena and Selina.
Further investigation revealed that just days before the killings, on June 25, 2019, the Department of Child Safety had received a report alleging that Torres had neglected and physically abused Aleena and her sibling. An investigation was initiated, and the last contact between the department and the family was on June 28, 2019. However, the allegations were ultimately unsubstantiated. Following the deaths, Aleena's surviving sibling was taken into DCS custody and placed in a foster home. Brandon Andres Bautista Torres eventually pleaded guilty to one charge of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of reckless manslaughter. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
