Twenty-three-year-old Marissa Salas was taken into custody Monday to begin a 20-year prison sentence after a Bexar County judge rejected a last-minute bid to keep her out of jail a little longer. She was handcuffed in the 437th District Court as supporters sobbed in the gallery, turning an already tense hearing into an emotional scene, as reported by KSAT.
Judge Joel Perez denied a motion from Salas’ attorneys to postpone her incarceration and ordered that she start serving the 20-year term immediately, according to KSAT. Prosecutors and the defense had previously agreed Salas could remain free on bond until after she gave birth because her pregnancy was considered high-risk. Courtroom photos captured a bailiff escorting Salas away from the bench as the hearing wrapped up.
The criminal case traces back to June 2022, when deputies reported finding a 15-month-old girl with severe injuries, including burn marks, a fractured skull and a brain bleed, according to a Bexar County grand-jury release. Salas later pleaded guilty to an omission charge and was sentenced in April to 20 years in prison, reporting from the San Antonio Express-News shows. Her co-defendant, Thomas Torres, pleaded guilty and received a five-year prison term in 2023, according to court records.
Judge’s Courthouse Order And DA Response
Separate from the criminal prosecution, a civil custody dispute involving the same family has raised eyebrows across the local legal community. In that case, 45th District Court Judge Mary Lou Alvarez ordered that Salas’ then 4-day-old infant be taken from the mother and kept in the courthouse’s Children’s Court protective room on Oct. 7 until Child Protective Services could arrive. It was, by any measure, an unusual use of courthouse space…