Riverside Dad Pleads Guilty To Voluntary Manslaughter In Baby's Death

RIVERSIDE, CA — A 24-year-old Riverside man who killed his 3-month-old daughter by wrapping her in a heavy blanket to silence her crying, causing the infant to suffocate, was bound for state prison Thursday to begin serving an 11-year sentence after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Kyle David Benitez admitted the felony count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office Tuesday. In exchange for his admission, prosecutors dropped three related felony charges against Benitez.

Superior Court Judge Gary Polk certified the terms of the plea deal and, on Wednesday, signed the orders committing the defendant to the state penitentiary.

Benitez was arrested in June 2022 following a monthslong investigation by the Riverside Police Department into the death of the tot, identified in court documents only by her initials, "E.B."

According to police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, on Dec. 30, 2021, patrol officers were sent to Benitez's residence on Sycamore Canyon Boulevard to investigate reports of an unexplained infant death.

Railsback said that paramedics notified officers because the circumstances connected with the fatality were unclear.

Detectives from the police department's Sexual Assault-Child Abuse Unit were assigned to the case and ultimately gathered evidence pointing to an intentional act by E.B.'s father.

Railsback said Benitez had "purposely wrapped (E.B.) in a heavy blanket and positioned her in a way to get her to stop crying."

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be "suffocation in the manner of a homicide."

Benitez was taken into custody at his apartment without incident on the night of June 23, 2022.

No charges were filed against the infant's mother, whose identity was not released.

The defendant had no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.