A Miami man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of the 2014 murder of an 11-year-old girl, the incident of which he allegedly tried to pass off as a suicide.
Miguel Ruiz Lobo was convicted earlier this month of first degree murder and robbery in the death of Martha Guzmán, he has now been sentenced to life imprisonment, for which he will spend his entire life in prison.
Ruiz Lobo faced the death penalty, but a jury disagreed unanimously that he should be sentenced to death, so he ultimately decided to recommend that his life be spared.
Martha was 11 when her mother’s partner stabbed her to death in Miami. Miguel Ruiz faces life imprisonment.
A judge officially sentenced him to life in prison on charges related to the death of an 11-year-old girl on June 22, 2014, when relatives found her dead in a Little Havana apartment.
Although at some point Ruiz Lobo told the police that little Guzmán had suicidal intentions. During the trial, experts testified that the injuries were not self-inflicted.
The Miami-Dade medical examiner told the jury Guzman’s throat had been stabbed multiple times, knife scrapes were found around his body, and his wrist had a deep cut to the bone.
The jury unanimously agreed on Monday that Ruiz Lobo had committed the first degree murder of a person under the age of 12, while involved in the commission of a robbery. However, not all jurors agreed that the murder was “particularly egregious, flagrant or cruel”.
Nearly 10 years after her death, those close to her described Guzmán as a happy girl who enjoyed playing with her siblings and neighborhood friends.
It’s unclear why Ruiz Lobo killed the girl, who was his ex-girlfriend’s daughter, but police said he was likely upset after Guzmán’s mother kicked him out of the apartment.
During closing depositions, Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Adams told jurors that CCTV captured the defendant entering and exiting the crime scene around the same time little Guzman was killed. .
Adams also pointed out how the defendant’s DNA was found under Guzmán’s fingernails, as he believes the girl was trying to defend herself and scratched Ruiz Lobo while fighting for her life.
The defendant’s attorney, Steven Neal Yermish, said his client was innocent. During his closing statements, he argued that the security footage did not capture a clear image of the man’s face. He also attacked the police investigation for lack of evidence.