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The Latest: Defense pushes for delay in child abuse case
Published February 29, 2016
The Latest on the sentencing of an Arizona couple convicted of imprisoning and abusing their daughters for months. (all times local):
12:05 p.m.
A judge in Arizona is considering a request by a man convicted of abusing and imprisoning his three stepdaughters to delay his sentencing because he is not mentally fit and can't remember the trial.
Fernando Richter told a judge in Tucson on Monday that he didn't understand what was going on and didn't recall being convicted. His attorney Paul Skitzki said Richter was on court-ordered medication for his mental illness.
Richter and his wife Sophia Richter were scheduled to be sentenced Monday after being convicted in December of kidnapping and child abuse after their daughters were imprisoned for several months. The hearing will resume later in the day.
The girls were 12, 13 and 17 when the two youngest escaped. They testified in court about the abuse and bizarre rules at the hands of their parents.
The defendants face a separate trial in Pinal County, where they lived prior to Tucson.
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10:44 a.m.
An Arizona couple convicted of kidnapping and child abuse for imprisoning their three daughters without access to a bathroom will be sentenced on Monday.
A Tucson jury found Fernando and Sophia Richter guilty in December of three counts each of kidnapping and child abuse.
The girls were 12, 13 and 17 when the two youngest escaped from their room and asked a neighbor for help.
The girls testified about the abuse and bizarre rules their parents imposed on them.
Fernando Richter was also convicted of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The couple also faces a criminal trial in nearby Pinal County for charges stemming from the time they lived there.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/the-latest-defense-pushes-for-delay-in-child-abuse-case