Couple faces death penalty in child's killing

A Maine Township couple charged with killing their daughter will face death themselves if convicted.

Prosecutors on Thursday announced their intention to seek the death penalty for both Mila Petrov, 30, and Carlos Beltran, 31, if the two are found guilty. The March crime is eligible for capital punishment because it was a "brutal, heinous murder" of a child under age 12, Cook County assistant state's attorney Rick Cenar said.

The couple, still parents to seven living children, is accused of first-degree murder in the death of 5-year-old Melanie Beltran. The tot suffered severe head trauma and lapsed into a coma before dying on March 14 -- the same day Petrov gave birth to another child, authorities say.

Petrov was arrested four days after the death. Beltran was arrested in April and accused of failing to shield his young daughter from what officials said apparently had been chronic, severe abuse.

Melanie had two black eyes and a broken nose at the time of her death, an autopsy showed. Scars indicating second- and third-degree burns appeared on her shoulder, arm and right foot. She also had no fat in her abdomen, according to autopsy results.

At an earlier hearing on the case, prosecutors said Petrov told police she had punished Melanie by tying her legs and putting her in a closet at their apartment near Des Plaines.

Assistant public defender Jim Mullenix, who is handling Petrov's case, said he's surprised prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Beltran. At a court date for the couple on Monday, he had said that scenario was highly unlikely.

But Cenar said, "It's a bad case. Based on his (Beltran's) connections, he had a duty as a parent to act. He didn't."

Petrov's relatives have denied the allegations against her. Those close to Beltran have said his arrest is unfair, depicting him as a father who had worked long hours at a Mundelein electronics store to support Petrov, his common-law wife, and children.

Relatives began caring for the kids after the couple's arrest, an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services spokesman has said.

Both Beltran and Petrov are in the Cook County Jail, and are scheduled to be back in court in Skokie on Sept. 18.

Mullenix said attorneys will seek a mental health exam for Petrov, whom he described this week as "very childlike."