A San Diego man who pleaded guilty to causing fatal injuries to his 7-week-old daughter was sentenced Monday to 10 years in state prison.
Jaime Santillanes, 39, admitted to felony child abuse in connection with the March 2024 death of Genevieve Santillanes. The infant died at a hospital three days after police were called to the family’s University City home.
Police responded on the night of March 18, 2023, after receiving a report that the baby had stopped breathing. Santillanes was initially charged with murder and assault following an investigation that included consultations with medical personnel trained in child-abuse injuries.
The child abuse charge Santillanes pleaded to indicates that the injuries occurred under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death. He also admitted personally inflicting great bodily injury on a child under five years old.
At a preliminary hearing last year, SDPD Sgt. Mark Sullivan testified that Santillanes told police he had been holding and feeding the baby on a couch when he fell asleep. He said he woke up after falling to the ground, with his full body weight landing on the infant.
Pediatrician Dr. Mallory McPhee, who assesses possible child abuse cases at Rady Children’s Hospital, testified that the child’s injuries—including multiple skull fractures—were inconsistent with Santillanes’ account. She stated that the severity of the injuries suggested an extremely traumatic event, such as a fall from several stories or a major car accident, though she could not determine the exact cause.
Defense attorney Brian Watkins argued that it was a leap to conclude the injuries were non-accidental and noted that Dr. McPhee could not definitively state how they occurred.
Deputy District Attorney Erin Casey countered that child abuse cases rarely have witnesses and emphasized that the doctor’s expert opinion made Santillanes’ explanation “implausible.”
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