WARNING, graphic: This is just so sad!

[LibbieLu08]

While I was watching this...I almost cried my eyes out!

YouTube - Baby Brianna

The short life and
brutal death of Baby
Brianna

The short life and brutal death of
Baby Brianna

Reporter: Kim Vallez
Web Producer: Bill Diven
Correction appended
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) - Brianna Lopez would be 6 years old now had her death at 6 months not revealed perhaps the most brutal child-abuse case in state history and prompted a major change in New Mexico law.
But as the July 19 anniversary of her death nears, some say the changes have not gone far enough.
The story of Baby Brianna is a hard one, but it is the ugly reality of child abuse. Violent family members caused her death while others hid what they knew was going on.
"They raped her; they beat her," said District Attorney Susana Martinez who prosecuted the case. "She had bite marks on her face, cheek, head, arms, legs, chest, torso, everywhere.
"Literally bruised from head to toe, from the top of her head all throughout her body all the way to the big toe on her right foot."
She was beaten and raped by her own family.
"Massive bruising on the head, and then her little fingers were lacerated, toes," said Detective Lindell Wright who was the first officer on the scene.
Brianna died on July 19, 2002. When Wright saw her body at a hospital, he remembers one thought going through his mind: "I've got a lot to do."
Later, when he had time to look back, "I cried my eyes out. It will stay with me for the rest of my life."
Investigators said Brianna's mother and father, Stephanie Lopez and Andy Walters, and her uncle Steven Lopez were responsible.
The night before, Steven and Andy threw Brianna to the ceiling, then let her slam to the ground. And they had raped her time and time again.
Brianna's mother had bitten her child. The source of the other bruises remains a mystery.
"Bite marks throughout her body; there were old and new," Wright said. "She had skull fractures that were old and new.
"She had bleeding on the brain both old and new which means she had been abused physically her entire life."
And while all the abuse was going on another uncle and a grandmother knew but never reported it or tried to stop it.
Martinez won convictions and maximum sentences for the three abusers.
"It tests you to the point you're not sure you can speak," Martinez said. "You're afraid that the emotion will take over."
For some Martinez's successful prosecution only highlighted shortcomings in the law.
When Baby Brianna was killed a person who committed intentional child abuse resulting in death faced a maximum of 18 years in prison. Her case brought on a major change.
"Eighteen years for the life of a child?" State Sen. Mary Jane Garcia of Doña Ana said. "I thought it was absurd."
It took Garcia three years of trying, but she changed the law to make the crime punishable by a life sentence.
"If the judges continue to sentence to the maximum under the new law, the law is sufficient," Martinez said. "But if a judge doesn't sentence them to the maximum to try to give some sort of deterrent effect to the rest of the community we've lost."
Both Martinez and Garcia said more needs to be done to punish people like Brianna's grandmother and uncle who fail to report abuse.
"Those two individuals knew she was being abused," Martinez said. "She was full of bruises that were old: green, brown, yellow-colored.
"Had they reported it early, had they and insisted on that child not being abused maybe we would have never had her death take place."
For failing to report the abuse the three were sentenced to 30 days in jail. The maximum is one year.
"I think perhaps we ought to try to make it five years at least," Garcia said. "I would go for something like that, and I would certainly try it."
However Wright said it's not just the law that needs to change.
"I think a lot of proactive still needs to happen as far as young parents need to have proper education, proper support systems," Wright said. "I feel a lot of young parents are struggling by themselves.
"They don't have anywhere to turn, and it is the chemistry of child abuse."
Brianna's story still brings much pain to the people in Doña Ana County who came together after her death, paid for her casket and burial and claimed her body when no one else would.
"The community felt that Baby Brianna could be their child, their granddaughter, their daughter, their niece," Las Cruces resident Edgar Lopez said.
Baby Brianna is now locked up in a cage built around her grave by her family to keep the community who loved her so much out. It is a mess, unkempt and full of trash.
"They were asked, and they said they just wanted to be left alone and they wanted Brianna to be left alone," Martinez said.
Inside is a cherub with a finger raised to her lips. Some believe it's a message.
"My first thought was, 'Let's not talk about what's occurred here,'" Lopez said.
Yet the community vows to not let that happen. People still leave flowers here and have built another marker.
The people of this community will never forget Brianna and neither will the detectives, social workers and prosecutors who worked on her case.
Wright said they never found pictures of Brianna in her

home, not a single image of her playing, laughing or smiling. He wanted to know what she looked like alive.
"Before they started the autopsy and her little face was lying on a white sheet and I thought she looks asleep," Wright said. "So I just took the picture."
The picture has since transformed with the bruises erased and the bite marks taken away. The scars have disappeared.
It's the Brianna this community likes to remember.
"There's a photograph of her to carry on of her little life," Wright said.
The picture hangs on the wall next to Susana Martinez's desk.
"It's a reminder, of course, of why we do what we do," Martinez said. "If you forget you'll either become calloused or you will become Jell-O.
"You can't do this job well unless you are in the middle, and that's just a good reminder why we do it."
Brianna is never far from the detective either.
"It drives me to work harder to prevent, to be a voice for every child of abuse," Wright said. "That's what it does."
The cop, the prosecutor and the politician agree it's everyone's job to report child abuse. Anyone who sees, or even suspects a child is being abused, needs to step in.
KRQE | Reporter: Kim Vallez | Web Producer: Bill Diven
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Andy Walters as Brianna's uncle and Stephen Lopez as her father. Walters is her father and Lopez is her uncle.

[BLowry]

Members will find this really disturbing..you really need to post "graphic pictures" I could not watch the entire video...I was horrified to see this little girl and read was what done to her...This is VERY disturbing! I have worked in 2 correctional facilities and know that the inmates have a code of ethics (even though they are incarcerated for a crime). They DO NOT take kindly to child abuse.. I hope and pray these animals that did this to that sweet little angel suffer the worst of the worse in prison and that her sweet little face is embedded in their minds till the day that they die! How someone ESPECIALLY the parents do something like this to an innocent child is beyond me. Being a grandmother myself...I just cannot imagine standing by and doing nothing...ALL involved, including the grandmother and uncle should rot in prison as well!

[ARCHIE]

I can't even imagine such horror. Wild animals don't do these things to their
off spring! These people are not human in any shape or form. There is no
penalty known to mankind that can punish these barbaric demons.

May that innocent baby be loved and cared for, now back with her maker.



I'm sick to my stomach.

[jeanm1963]

OMG I am soo sorry that I even looked at this post.... I pray those people will get tortured every single day they are in prison......I hope every mom that is incarcerated will torture that mother every moment of every day... Death is too good for her.... Those men, I hope they rot in hell and that every dad in prison torture them on a daily basis.. they are not only sick but evil.. I wish they could be raped and thrown off the ceiling themselves.. Sick Sick Sick , this is the most sickening thing I have ever seen.. may they rot in hell for all of eternity. God Bless that poor little baby, may she find peace in Jesus' arms where she will remain safe forever...

[Rerun201]

I have to agree, this post is really horrifying to see. I know things like this happen everyday, dh was a detective for 25 years and dealt with it. I do have to wonder if this is the proper place to post this. This is extremely disturbing to see, and plenty of members may not want to.

[RoscoesMommy42]

oh my gosh that is absolutely horrible. I don't see how it could be possible to watch that without crying. It is really scary that monsters like that live among us.

[celstu1]

ugh... the world continues to amaze and horrify me. Why have a baby? Why not give it up for adoption if it was not wanted or planned? WHY do THAT??? There is no eye for an eye here. NOTHING could be done to them that is worse or even equal to what they did to their child. RIP Brianna sweetheart

[chachi]

The parents and uncle that did this are animals and they deserve the death penalty. I think the grandma that knew about it and did nothing is just as guilty. RIP sweet baby

[megansmomma]

There are a lot of very sick people that live in our society and these people are right at the top of this list. I have to say that although graphic and disturbing it is getting the word out about laws and criminal behavior that helps to make a change. I saw this on Facebook over the weekend. My daughter who has never sent me a link to anything sent it to me. When you love your children it is hard to imagine doing anything that would ever harm them. This story is disturbing but look how it has caught the attention of so many.

Just like the issues that are brought to our attention regarding puppymills and cruelty to animals this too needs to be seen and discussed for change to happen. Children and animals are defenseless and we need to stand up for them as they cannot do it for themselves.

I know that Baby Brianna is safe and no longer suffering at the hands of these animals. RIP sweet princess.

[jeanm1963]

Originally Posted by BLowry

Members will find this really disturbing..you really need to post "graphic pictures" I could not watch the entire video...I was horrified to see this little girl and read was what done to her...This is VERY disturbing! I have worked in 2 correctional facilities and know that the inmates have a code of ethics (even though they are incarcerated for a crime). They DO NOT take kindly to child abuse.. I hope and pray these animals that did this to that sweet little angel suffer the worst of the worse in prison and that her sweet little face is embedded in their minds till the day that they die! How someone ESPECIALLY the parents do something like this to an innocent child is beyond me. Being a grandmother myself...I just cannot imagine standing by and doing nothing...ALL involved, including the grandmother and uncle should rot in prison as well!

Brenda,

My brother was also a correction officer and told me that we the people do not have to do the justice, that inmates will make sure that no matter the sentence each day of thier sick lives will be tortured, I only hope he is correct.

[Lexi Rae]

i cant even speak.!, not one word out of my mouth is gonna be clean.. that poor baby.. omg!!!!!

[chickwit]

I am sick to my stomachthis breaks my heart
They are going straight to hell!!!!!!

[chandracz]

This is one of the worst things I have ever seen!!! It's just SICK SICK SICK!!!! How can the grandmother stand by and watch this happen queitly??? I'm sick to my stomach over this! PATHETIC!!!! RIP baby Brianna!

[Zeus08]

This is so heinous, I can't even finish watching the video. What kind of monsters are these people???

[chandracz]

They were feeding her and keeping her alive just so they could continue to abuse her!!! I'm just so upset about this!!!!!