Simon Lopez accepts plea deal, sentenced to life in prison | News

TYLER, TX (KLTV)- An East Texas man was sentenced to life in prison for the 2010 capital murder of his girlfriend's one-year-old son.

Twenty-eight-year-old
Simon Lopez pleaded guilty to killing the boy Friday. His plea came as
part of a plea bargain in which the state withdrew their intent to seek
the death penalty.

It was two years ago, next week, that
18-month-old Jeremy Silva Jr. was killed. Police said Jeremy and his
four-year-old brother were left with Lopez while their mother, Emma
Torres, was at work.

Torres was arrested on child endangerment
charges for leaving Jeremy and his brother at home with Lopez. She is
currently serving a two year state jail sentence for that charge.

It
wasn't clear that Lopez's case would end in a plea deal until about 10
a.m. Friday, when the defense notified the Smith County District
Attorney's Office that they'd like to enter a bargain.

District attorney Matt Bingham said after consulting with Jeremy's family, everyone was in agreement with this resolution.

Simon
Lopez told the judge he was in fact guilty of causing Jeremy's death by
striking him with his hand, foot or another hard object. The autopsy
revealed that the 18-month-old died from a torn atrium in his heart.

In
July 2011, Jeremy's grandmother, Darla Silva, said she'd never be at
peace with the loss of her grandson. Back then, her feelings on Lopez
being sentenced to death were changing.

"At one point I said,
'The death penalty? Yes. Go for it. Now. Quick. Hurry,' but at the same
time, part of me says a long life might be worse," Darla said.

Lopez
was on the run for eight months. In December 2010, he was nearly
captured at a motel in Dallas, but managed to escape. After the U.S.
Marshals Service added Lopez to their Top 15 Most Wanted Fugitives, he
was detained in Mexico and brought back to Smith County to stand trial.

Before
the hearing Friday, Jeremy's father, aunt and grandmother agreed to
have the district attorney's office accept the plea bargain, sparing
them the turmoil of many weeks of trial.

"It's extremely
difficult on the family. You have 13 to 14 weeks of hearing about the
death of your loved one, in addition to that, when they plea guilty,
[the defendant] waivers all rights to appeal," said Bingham.

The plea affirmed Lopez's guilt, and that he'll never leave the penitentiary alive.

"Where
he's going, he's not going to hurt any other children. So the ultimate
penalty, in my mind, is served. He is forever out of the society that
contains children," said Smith County First Assistant District Attorney
April Sikes.

More than two years of preparing for trial was not lost. Lead investigators said Friday was about justice.

"I
feel like justice for Jeremy has been served and I'm just happy for
that," said Tyler Police Department Detective Michelle Brock.

"Jeremy
Sliva was not just a baby. He was a real live, breathing, human being
who's life was cut short at an unbelievably young age," said Sikes.

Jeremy's aunt chose to make a statement to the court at the end of Friday's hearing.

"He (Lopez) did not just take Jeremy
away from us. He destroyed us. I will never get to see Jeremy walk. I
will never get to see him talk, " she said.

To Lopez, she said,
"You will not just suffer from what the court has imposed on you, but
you will have to suffer from God and you will have to live with this the
rest of your life."

Simon Lopez will never be eligible for parole.

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