Man Admits Killing Toddler Re Spared A Possible Death Sentence By Pleading Guilty To Second-Degree Murder

A Spirit Lake man admitted beating his girlfriend’s 20-month-old son to death and pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder.

Ralph J. Reyes, 22, bowed his head and wept openly after changing his plea while his parents sat silently two rows behind. He said little in accepting a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Reyes had previously pleaded innocent to first-degree murder for the Oct. 29, 1996, death of Anthony Mitchell and could have faced the death penalty if he was convicted. His trial was scheduled to begin Monday.

By pleading guilty, Reyes admitted killing the toddler “by punching, slapping, poking and/or shaking Anthony R. Mitchell in the chest, abdomen, back, face and/or head,” according to court documents.

Under the plea agreement, defense attorneys cannot ask for a suspended prison sentence or for the judge to send Reyes to a 180-day boot-camp program before setting him free on probation or giving him more prison time. Prosecutors are not bound by any sentencing recommendation restrictions.

Prosecutors agreed to amend the charge to second-degree murder when a disagreement arose over what their burden of proof would be, said Deputy Prosecutor Ericka Ellingsen.

Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors would have had to prove Reyes intended to kill Anthony. Prosecutors believed they only had to show that the toddler was killed during an aggravated assault to win a first-degree murder conviction, Ellingsen said.

A jury could have found Reyes guilty of manslaughter, which carries no mandatory minimum sentence, if prosecutors could not have proven their murder case.

“My goal is to keep him in jail as long as we can so he doesn’t do this to another child,” Ellingsen said after the hearing.

Ellingsen said she probably would not have sought the death penalty had the case gone to trial.

Prosecutor Bill Douglas said the plea agreement achieved the same result a conviction would have and saved the county $50,000. Reyes’ guilty plea means he can only appeal his sentence, Douglas said.

Reyes, who is being held in the Kootenai County Jail, faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to prison for life. First District Judge Gary Haman set sentencing for Dec. 5 at 3 p.m.

Deputy Public Defender Bradford Chapman refused comment after the hearing. Reyes’ parents also declined comment.

Ellingsen said the victim’s family supported the plea agreement. Anthony’s relatives did not attend the hearing and could not be reached for comment.

An autopsy showed Anthony died of bleeding from the liver. His injuries included head injuries, fractured ribs, a torn liver, bruises to his pancreas, bowel, heart and lungs.

“This child suffered for 3-1/2 hours and died with no one there to comfort him,” Ellingsen said.

Reyes admitted to police he punched Anthony several times with a closed fist in the abdomen and kidney areas, prosecutors said at a preliminary hearing.

He had lived with the boy’s mother, Anna Mitchell, at the Timber Lane Apartments in Spirit Lake for four months before Anthony died.

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