Killer of Girl, 11 Months, Is Sentenced to 25 Years to Life

An acquaintance who watched a baby girl as her baby-sitter ran an errand was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in prison for killing the 11-month-old child after she soiled his sweatshirt.

Jose Alonso Salazar, 31, got the maximum prison sentence in Van Nuys Superior Court, meaning he will not be eligible for parole consideration for 22 years.

The victim’s mother, Kimberly Krygoski, 21, said she will never forgive Salazar.

“He’s a coward, he couldn’t even look at me,” Krygoski said.

“I just want him to remember me and Adrianna every day . . . and I want him to remember I helped put him there the rest of his pitiful life.”

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Michael Harwin imposed the sentence.

“The judicial system did everything it could have done in this case,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Turkat of the district attorney’s Sex Crimes, Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Unit.

“The defendant faced the most severe charges under the law for killing this infant. He was convicted of all counts and was sentenced to the maximum penalty.”

“Unfortunately,” Turkat said, “Adrianna’s mother was correct when she told the court, ‘This never should have happened in the first place.’ ”

During the trial, witnesses testified that Adrianna Krygoski was in perfect health when she was left in the care of her baby-sitter Joanne Moreau last November, but later died after Salazar, an acquaintance of Moreau’s, volunteered to watch the infant while Moreau ran an errand.

“Salazar fed her a half a jar of baby food after which Adrianna became fussy and batted the spoon out of his hand,” Turkat said.

When some of the food got on his sweatshirt, Salazar became irate, violently shaking the infant and slamming her on a hard surface, so hard “it caused two skull fractures, one of which was 6 inches long,” said Turkat.

“This wasn’t a case of cuddling a child,” the prosecutor said of the injuries. “The only way this could have occurred naturally would be a fall from a second-story window or a massive traffic accident.”

During the trial, Salazar’s attorney Frank DiSabatino argued there were inconsistencies in key testimony by a Los Angeles County medical examiner.

“The jury chose to rely on the medical examiner’s testimony even after he backpedaled,” DiSabatino said. “This is a tragedy that has touched a lot of lives.”

Members of Salazar’s family alleged the verdict was based on racism.

“We are going to continue fighting this case until he is free. He didn’t do anything,” said the defendant’s sister Ana Salazar, 37, of Lancaster. “This was a case of a Latino against a white.”