In the summer of 2019, the life of a four-year-old Hispanic girl named Aleena Marie Bermudez was tragically cut short in her Glendale, Arizona home. On the night of June 30th, just days before her fifth birthday, Aleena and her 23-year-old mother, Selina Toyos, were shot and killed. The person responsible was her mother's boyfriend, Brandon Andres Bautista Torres.
Following the shooting, Torres did not immediately call for help.
Instead, he attempted to clean the scene and then left the home with the one-year-old son he shared with Toyos. He drove to his mother's house in Surprise to drop off the infant, telling his family he was going to see a movie with his girlfriend and her daughter. It was hours later, just before midnight, that police were finally dispatched to the home after a caller reported the shooting and handed the phone to Torres.
When law enforcement arrived, they found both Aleena and her mother deceased inside the residence. Initially, Torres fabricated a story, claiming a homeless man had entered the home and shot them during a struggle. He provided several conflicting accounts of the events, telling investigators he waited hours to contact them out of fear the supposed gunman would return with others. He also expressed a fear of being wrongfully blamed by the police.
The investigation, conducted jointly by the Glendale Police Department and the Department of Child Safety, soon unraveled his story. It was revealed that just days before the murders, a report had been made to child services alleging neglect and physical abuse of Aleena by Torres. He was arrested and subsequently indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. Ultimately, Brandon Andres Bautista Torres pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of reckless manslaughter. He was sentenced to life in prison for the deaths of Aleena and her mother.
