A man has been jailed for 100 years after he was caught on CCTV repeatedly throwing his three year-old stepdaughter in a swimming pool, eventually causing her to drown.
The incident happened last year at a hotel in in the city of Morelia, in the south-western Mexican state of Michoacan. Shocking surveillance footage shows Jose David N. repeatedly throwing the child into the water, as she is seen battling to keep herself afloat. The young girl was unable to swim, and on one occasion Jose can even be seen walking away, only to return and throw her in again.
A third time, he stands watching her as she flails and pleads for help. Eventually he throws a lifebuoy but she is unable to reach it. Other bathers did nothing to try and save her.
The girl’s mother, who is a nurse, had left the child in her stepfather’s care while she slept in the hotel room. She returned to find the lifeless girl in front of the TV, and they took her to hospital. Jose was arrested and detained a short time later.
While he was aware that she could not swim, he expressed surprise after being told that she had drowned. The mother claimed she did not know her daughter was being mistreated until she saw the video clips.
Throughout the murder trial, Jose stayed silent and did not testify. Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of up to 40 years, but after seeing the disturbing footage, he was given the more severe punishment of aggravated murder with no possibility of parole.
The video initially sparked outrage last year when it was made public in South America.
