Adoptive Parents Deny Torturing, Killing Young Son In Riverside County

MORENO VALLEY, CA — A Moreno Valley couple accused of killing their adopted son pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder and other charges.

Juan Moreno Sanchez, 60, and Alejandra Marin, 51, were arrested last fall following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation.

Along with murder, both defendants are charged with a special circumstance allegation of inflicting torture in the act of killing.

They were jointly arraigned Monday before Superior Court Judge Gail O'Rane, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for the pair on June 24 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Each is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Jarred Bishop, on the afternoon of last Nov. 21, patrol deputies went to the defendants' two-story house on a cul de sac in the 13000 block of Malibu Court, near Westlake Drive, to investigate reports of a child in medical distress.

The 10-year-old boy, identified in court documents only as "J.S.," was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley in grave condition.

"Deputies' initial investigation revealed signs of possible neglect and abuse," Bishop said. "Several hours later, the juvenile's health declined, and he was pronounced deceased at the hospital."

Central Homicide Unit detectives took over the investigation, determining that J.S. had been adopted by Sanchez and Marin, who were questioned and taken into custody without incident on Nov. 22.

Details regarding the alleged mistreatment of the victim were not disclosed.

Neither defendant has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.