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Jury recommends death for Largo man who killed 2-year-old

 
Published Jan. 28, 2015

LARGO -- A jury has recommended that a Largo man be executed for killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.

Although the jury voted 10-2 in favor of the death penalty for Joel Adrian Cruz, it is Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone who will decide whether to impose the sentence. That's a process that often takes a few months.

If Bulone does not choose the death penalty, Cruz would be given life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Cruz repeatedly beat the girl, Ananhie Fernandez in Largo in May 2013. Afterward, Cruz balked at taking her to the hospital, but finally did so after the girl's mother pleaded with him. But on the drive to All Children's Hospital, he asked the mother if she was going to "snitch" on him, she said during the trial.