Not guilty plea is entered in death of boy, 3

Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005 | 9:46 a.m.

A 23-year-old man accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend's 3-year-old son, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Jose Luis Rubio is scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 13 before District Judge Donald Mosley for first-degree murder by child abuse in the June 13 death of Joseph Rivera.

Prosecutors allege Rubio snapped while he was babysitting Joseph and either punched, kicked or used an object to strike the 3-year-old in the abdomen.

Rubio contends he was baby-sitting Noelia "Nellie" Rivera's son and 5-year-old daughter when he found Joseph collapsed on the bathroom floor. His attorneys contend the child, who liked to pretend he was Spiderman, died after accidentally falling off the top bunk of a bunk bed.

Dr. Lary Simms, a Clark County medical examiner, testified at Rubio's preliminary hearing that the force was so strong that the boy's pancreas was split in two. He said the injuries included areas of bruising on the left side of the boy's mouth and hemorrhages on the surface of the left eye.

Simms said the cause of death was blunt abdominal trauma and the manner was homicide, but he would not rule out that the injuries could have been caused by an accident at the home.

He did clarify the statement, however, saying the number of bruises and their locations would have required the boy to fall down three separate times for the accidental falling theory to pass muster.

Doctors and police have found no evidence of physical abuse present in either the other boy or Rivera's three daughters.

Rubio is out of custody on $75,000 bail.