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Riley Co. Jury Convicts Man Of Killing Girlfriend, Son

Reporter: Associated Press

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A northeastern Kansas man has been convicted of capital murder for the September 2009 killings of his ex-girlfriend and their son.

KMAN-AM reports the jury in Riley County District Court deliberated only a few hours Friday afternoon before returning the verdict against 24-year-old Luis Aguirre.

Aguirre was charged with suffocating 18-year-old Tanya Maldonado and the couple's 13-month-old son, Juan, at the young woman's home in Manhattan. A hunter found the bodies the following month in a shallow grave near Ogden.

The judge ordered the jury to return to court July 9 to decide whether Aguirre should be executed or receive a lesser sentence, such as life in prison.

Evidence in the trial included video of Aguirre telling investigators the deaths were accidental. The defense rested without calling any witnesses.

Friday, June 22, 2012

A 24-year-old man has been found guilty of capital murder in connection to the death of his ex-girlfriend and their 13-month-old son.

Luis Aguirre is accused of suffocating Tanya Maldonado and the couple's son, Juan, in September 2009 at the woman's Manhattan home. A hunter found the bodies the following month in a shallow grave near Ogden.

Aguirre had told investigators he dug the hole in a hurried panic shortly after what he maintains were the accidental deaths. But a Kansas State University biologist testified Thursday that layers of leaves found under the bodies suggested the grave was dug some time in advance.