Jury Acquits Pasco Man In Death Of 18-Month-Old Child

A jury acquitted a 25-year-old Pasco man of second-degree murder, as well as a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter, in the death of his ex-girlfriend’s 18-month-old baby.

Jurors in Franklin County Superior Court said they wanted justice for the death of 18-month-old Mercedes Rodriguez. But they said they didn’t believe the child’s mother, Peggy Rodriguez, who said Francisco Gonzales beat the infant to death.

“Justice really hasn’t been done as far as the baby is concerned, but there is no other way we could have come up with a different verdict,” juror Ed Rhodes of Pasco said Friday.

Deliberations began Thursday afternoon.

During the weeklong trial, Mercedes’ mother, Peggy Rodriguez, portrayed Gonzales as a violent thug who repeatedly beat her and her child. But Rhodes said he and other jurors found her testimony less than credible.

Rodriguez already has entered an Alford plea to first-degree manslaughter in Mercedes’ death. That means she doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges a jury could find her guilty based on the evidence. Prosecutors, who are recommending a four-year prison sentence, said she failed to report the abuse.