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DuPage judge to rule March 28 in shaken baby case

An Aurora father whose infant daughter died from injuries suffered while he was watching her will have his fate decided by a DuPage County judge.

Judge George Bakalis is expected to rule March 28 whether Joel Z. Chavez is guilty of murdering 5-month-old Julyssa. If convicted, Chavez could be sentenced to 20 to 60 years in prison.

Earlier this week, Chavez, 28, testified that he never meant to kill his daughter when he shook her and threw her onto a bed in January 2009.

But during closing arguments on Thursday, prosecutors said Chavez was a “stressed” and “angry” man who was unhappy with his life. They say he intentionally took it out on the child, who died a day later of multiple injuries consistent with child abuse.

“He literally shook and beat his daughter to death,” Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Lindt said.

Prosecutors said Julyssa was fine on the morning of Jan. 12, 2009 when she and her sister were left home alone with Chavez. The mother was taking her 14-year-old son to a dentist appointment in Chicago.

Then “something happened” to Julyssa when she refused a bottle and started crying, Lindt said.

“He (Chavez) shook her to quiet her,” Lindt said. “He shook her because he couldn’t stand it anymore.”

After shaking the child, Chavez threw her “across the room for someone else to deal with,” Lindt said.

The mother called 911 after getting several phone calls from Chavez. Paramedics arrived to find Julyssa unresponsive and barely breathing. She had severe head trauma, brain swelling and arm and rib fractures.

“It’s clear from all the evidence that the defendant abused this child,” Lindt said.

In a statement to police, Chavez admitted pulling the child off a bed by an arm and then throwing her back down when she refused to take her bottle, officials said.

But defense attorney Steven Muslin says Chavez was only trying to get Julyssa to stop crying long enough to be fed.

Chavez testified during the trial that he thought throwing the child onto the bed might “make her comfortable.”

When Chavez realized Julyssa had “lost her breath,” he shook the child in an effort to revive her, Muslin said. The injuries may have been caused when Chavez performed CPR compressions for which he wasn’t trained. Muslin added.

“His intention was to help,” Muslin said. “He didn’t know what he was doing.”

Muslin argued that if Chavez is found guilty, it should be for involuntary manslaughter — not murder.

But Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pawl says Chavez committed an intentional act against the child.

“Julyssa was scared,” Pawl said. “And she was scared of the last person on the earth she should be scared of. He (Chavez) should have protected her, and he didn’t.”