Prosecutors Plan to Object to Cut in Prison Term

Prosecutors said Monday they will ask the state Supreme Court to review a sentence reduction for an Orange man convicted of killing his daughter more than a decade ago, possibly as part of an exorcism.

The reduction means Marcos Morales, 57, soon could be released on parole with credit for good behavior and time served in jail before the sentence. But officials said Monday it was not immediately clear when Morales becomes eligible for release and noted that a parole board is not likely to show a child killer much leniency.

Morales was convicted of first-degree murder for abusing and killing his daughter, Lisa, who disappeared in the late 1970s when she was about 4 years old. Evidence at the 1992 trial indicated Morales claimed the girl was possessed by the devil.

The case also was unusual because the girl’s body has never been found, and Morales was convicted after an older sister told a therapist about the girl’s death.

Morales must be sentenced under the laws in place at the time of the killing. But the date of death is unknown, and sentencing laws changed several times in the late 1970s.

An Orange County Superior Court judge sentenced Morales to 30 years to life in prison, but the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana reduced that sentence to a life term after concluding the lesser sentence was in effect at the time. Under the various sentencing laws, he will be eligible for parole sooner under a life term than he would with a 30-year-to-life term.

Prosecutor Lewis R. Rosenblum said Monday he has evidence Lisa was still alive when the law changed to the tougher sentence. Morales’ appellate court attorney could not be reached for comment.