Father sentenced Monday in death of newborn daughter

A gavel File photo courtesy UC Berkeley Law SAN DIEGO A judge sentenced a University City father Monday to years in prison for felony child abuse in the death of his newborn daughter Jaime Javier Santillanes was given credit for already serving days in jail since his arrest following the occurrence On March San Diego police received a p m call about a non-breathing infant at a townhome in the block of La Jolla Village Drive Police declared the infant Genevieve Santillanes sustained serious traumatic internal injuries in which child abuse was suspected Genevieve died of her injuries three days later Santillanes attorney Brian E Watkins argued that his client was holding the infant when he fell asleep and fell from a chair in the living room of the townhome Watkins explained Santillanes weighed about pounds at the time and he fell upon her head on the one-inch carpeted floor That accident caused her fatal injuries argued Watkins The cause of death was blunt force trauma but a pediatrician who testified in the preliminary hearing explained the injuries were not the outcome of an accident The prosecution insisted the injuries occurred because of abuse San Diego Superior Court Judge Lisa Rodriguez imposed the term when Santillanes pleaded guilty to felony child abuse after she dismissed murder charges in a plea agreement with the District Attorney s office The murder trial was canceled Rodriguez fined Santillanes