Costa Mesa : Appeal or Retrial Due in Infant Torture Case

Prosecutors said Monday that they will either appeal or seek a second trial of Anthony Mahmoud Fathi, whose first-degree murder conviction in the torturing and death of a 7-month-old infant has been reversed by a state appellate court.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard M. King said he was “disturbed and confused” by the ruling that called evidence of torture inadequate in the case. King said a jury found that the Costa Mesa man repeatedly bit the victim and then killed the child with a blow that fractured ribs and ruptured the stomach.

The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana said it “reluctantly” found the evidence of torture inadequate in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Thomas J. Crosby Jr.

Fathi, sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, will remain in custody while prosecutors decide whether to appeal or take him to trial a second time, King said.

Fathi, an Iranian immigrant, lived with Isabel Rodriguez and her infant son, Daniel, in a Costa Mesa apartment in 1983. Fathi threatened to leave her unless she got rid of the baby.

On Nov. 29, 1983, Rodriguez found the infant comatose and barely breathing after Fathi had cared for Daniel. Within 24 hours, the infant died of a ruptured stomach. An autopsy showed numerous bruises on the child’s back, side, head and abdomen, as well as several recently fractured ribs.

However, noting that prosecutors conceded that Daniel was “undoubtedly” comatose from the moment the heavy blow was struck, the appellate court ruled that evidence of torture was insufficient.