ESPAÑOLA, N.M. (KRQE) – The man who admitted to killing his five-year-old stepdaughter, Renezmae Calzada, in 2019 has been sentenced. Malcolm Torres will spend the next 35 years in prison.
The body of five-year-old Renezmae was found in the Rio Grande on the Santa Clara Pueblo three days after she was reported missing in September 2019. Her disappearance sparked an Amber Alert and had many community members searching for the young girl. While many in the community searched for Renezmae between September 8 and 11, officials say the girl was already dead before the first call to authorities was ever made.
According to prosecutors, Renezmae had bruises on the back of her head, a broken wrist, and had suffered blunt force trauma. In April, Torres pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, claiming he beat her, but saying he was heavily intoxicated and did not remember committing the crimes.
At Torres’ October 30, 2023, hearing, he apologized to Renezmae’s family. Torres was sentenced to 30 years, and family members unleashed their emotions on him in the courtroom.
