Sunday Xtra: Justice delayed for man acquitted of murdering daughter?
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- We are learning new information regarding the case of the father acquitted of killing his 2-month-old baby in 2017.
A week after the acquittal, however, Jose Angel Varela remains behind bars at the El Paso County jail.
Officials now tell ABC-7 that Varela was in the Borderland illegally, working as a mechanic when his daughter, Velma, died. Varela spent the next six years in jail awaiting trial.
ABC-7 Sunday Xtra host Saul Saenz spoke with El Paso's chief public defender, Kelli Childress, as well as District Attorney Bill Hicks, about the case.
He asked both legal minds if Varela's was a case of justice delayed.
The week Velma died in 2017, Varela worked 10 hours a day, six hours a week. The day before her death, Varela cared for the girl to give her mother a break. Varela testified that he put Velma to bed, but the following morning, the baby did not wake up.
Varela was arrested and charged with the baby's murder. Saul asks DA Hicks if the case should have been more thoroughly investigated before charging Varela with capital murder.
Find out more Sunday night at 10:35 p.m.
