A man who stuffed his girlfriend's 10-month-old baby in a backpack and then killed her has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Trevor Marquis Rowe was arrested in January 2020 and charged with capital murder following the death of Marion Jester-Montoya.
His arrest warrant said the 29-year-old picked up the little girl and took her to his job site. Once there, he stuffed the girl in a backpack and left her in the front passenger seat floorboard for hours while he was working.
Detectives said Marion got out of the backpack at one point and Rowe put her back inside.
Authorities added that the man checked on the girl during lunch and found her "lightly crying and breathing", but at that point he put the backpack into the car trunk.
Just before 5pm, Rowe found that Marion was not breathing, so he contacted 911 and attempted to revive the child - but it was too late.
Rowe pleaded guilty to capital murder with a victim under the age of 10 and on Friday morning, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole.
The girl's death left her loved ones distraught, with her dad Emilio Montoya describing her as an active baby who was learning to walk and would always be running around.
Marion's aunt Katrina Montoya said if her dad had full custody of her, she would not have been killed. The girl's father and mother had joint custody, according to Law and Crime.
Grandmother Sheilah Montoya added that when Rowe came to pick up the girl, she "immediately started screaming and grabbing" for her nan.
Court documents seen by American media said Rowe had been previously accused of leaving his two children unattended in a home in 2018.
