SAN MARCOS – Mark Anthony Briones, 34, of Kyle was convicted of capital murder for the June 2022 murder of infant Annalyne Fridley Benavides. Judge Bruce Boyer then sentenced the defendant to life without parole.

According to a Hays County news release, on June 20, 2022, Briones was babysitting Fridley Benavides, his roommates 7-month-old infant. This was not the first time he had cared for her. Around 5:01 p.m., the infant was rushed to Ascension Seton Hays Hospital because she wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. Doctors observed severe bruising all over her body. She was then life-flighted to Dell Children’s Medical Center, where she was later pronounced brain dead, the release stated.

The defendant stated that Fridley Benavides had been acting normal until she fell off his 12-inch trundle bed and became lifeless. His story wasn’t consistent with the copious amounts of medical evidence that showed she had detached retinas, anoxic brain injury and subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, according to the news release. Several medical experts testified that her injuries along with the bruising all over her body are consistent with being beaten to death. The jury was also shown a photograph of Fridley Benavides taken the morning before her death in which she appeared to be healthy and had no bruising.

This case was investigated by Kyle Police Department Sergeant Tim Owens and Detective Pedro Carrasco and prosecuted by Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Katie Arnold and Rebecca Lopez.

“I’d like to thank the witnesses that testified in this case, and the jury for their verdict. It was an honor to fight for that sweet baby girl and to get to tell her story to the jury. We are very grateful for the verdict and we know Annalyne would have been proud” said Arnold. “We hope in some way that her family can have some closure knowing that her murderer will be spending the rest of his life in prison.”

Nov. 1 would have been Fridley Benavides’ third birthday.