Trial set for Española man accused of killing stepdaughter

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A March 13 trial date has been set for a Española man accused of killing his 5-year-old stepdaughter in 2019.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that 28-year-old Malcolm Torres recently rejected a plea agreement offered by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque.

Federal prosecutors said Torres is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Renezmae Calzada.

The Santa Clara Pueblo girl’s body was found in the Rio Grande several days after her mother reporter her missing in September 2019.

Authorities have released few details about the child’s death, where exactly her body was found or how she may have ended up in a river that is at least a mile from the east-central Española yard where she was last seen.

Prosecutors said it’s unclear why Torres rejected the proposed plea agreement.

A federal public defender appointed to represent Torres has declined comment on the case.