Hearing continues in child-abuse case

Angela Soo

Wednesday, May 16, 2001 | 9:38 a.m.

Jose Roberto Flores broke into tears Tuesday when he was shown photographs of his bruised 5-year-old daughter in court.

He took the stand at a preliminary hearing to determine whether his wife, Martha Flores, would stand trial in the child abuse death of his daughter, Zoraida Flores. The girl, Martha Flores' stepdaughter, died in January at the Flores' apartment, near Flamingo Road and Maryland Parkway.

The hearing was to continue this afternoon.

Jose Flores, who has since separated from Martha, described the change he saw in his wife after her third child was born.

"She changed a lot," Jose Flores said. "She started yelling at me. Get jealous of my daughter. She said, 'You love your daughter too much.' "

Jose Flores met Martha Flores through a newspaper ad she posted asking for baby clothing, he said. She was pregnant with her third child at the time. He responded, and after several months, they were married, he said.

Jose Flores said the beginning of the marriage was based more on sympathy than romance. She was unhappy living with her sister, and Jose Flores wanted to help.

When Jose Flores noticed changes in his wife's behavior, he also sensed that his daughter wasn't the same.

"She stopped calling me Daddy and hugging me when I came home from work," Jose Flores said. "She would always make eye contact with Martha before coming to me."

Bruises began appearing on his daughter's face soon afterward, he testified. He didn't think anything of the first one, because his daughter said she hit a pole. Then the bruises intensified. Martha Flores explained that her older son, Jesse, had hit her with a toy.

The bruises became so apparent that Martha Flores was afraid school officials would accuse of her hitting the child. So she stopped taking her to school, Jose Flores said.

The state will take into consideration what happens in the preliminary hearing when deciding whether Martha Flores' children, who are in the state's care, will be placed in foster care or with her family.

A medical examiner from the Clark County's coroner's office described the injuries that killed the girl.

Examiner Lary Simms said Zoraida died from blunt head trauma.

Jennifer Gormluy, a firefighter and paramedic with the Clark County Fire Department, was dispatched to the Flores' apartment that day. She recounted the scene and noted Martha Flores' unusual behavior.

"She was standing with her arms crossed, just observing what was going on," Gormluy testified. There was no apparent "demonstrative distress."

"Concerned family members usually ask what's going on," Gormluy said. "I never saw nor heard any emotions."