DENVER (KDVR) — A man who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for the 1998 death of his then-girlfriend’s 4-month-old daughter had his sentence vacated on Tuesday in a Denver district court, and is now set to be released from prison.
Stephen Martinez, 58, was arrested in 1998 and ultimately convicted of first-degree murder. Experts testified during his trial that the injuries to 4-month-old Heather Mares were typical of those sustained in cases of shaken baby syndrome.
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The vacated sentence, meanwhile, comes after Martinez’s defense team argued Mares’ injuries were comparable to pneumonia injuries. Denver District Attorney John Walsh announced Tuesday that the decision was made at the joint request of the Denver District Attorney’s Office and the University of Colorado Law School-based Korey Wise Innocence Project.
The DA’s office said KWIP presented “multiple credible medical experts who challenged the initial determination that Heather’s death was caused by physical abuse,” at which point it retained independent experts whose opinions “largely confirmed” those of the defense experts…