Father Sentenced to 85 Years in Prison for the Heinous Murder of his Infant Daughter

A Chicago man has been sentenced to 85 years in prison for the murder of his five-month-old daughter who he suffocated with his own hands to stop the infant from crying, according to the Office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

 
Rodrigo Rodriguez, 31, was previously convicted of First Degree Murder in the death of his infant daughter Angelina Rodriguez, who was suffocated in her parents’ bed and then left untreated in a nearby playpen for hours before emergency medical help was contacted. Angela Petrov, Rodriguez’s girlfriend and the mother of the child, has also been convicted of First Degree Murder in the case and she is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

 
According to prosecutors, on April 11, 2013, Rodriguez and Petrov were at their West Rogers Park apartment with the victim, their two-year-old son and Petrov’s six-year-old son from a previous relationship. The two older children were asleep in the living room and the five-month-old victim was asleep in a playpen next to the couple’s bed as they drank alcohol and listened to music into the early hours of the morning.

 
Sometime after 3 a.m. the infant began to cry and Rodriguez laid her on the bed and placed his hand over her mouth and nose for approximately 30 seconds, cutting off the baby’s oxygen supply. When the child’s body went limp, Rodriguez removed his hand. When the infant gasped for air and began to cry again, Rodriguez again placed his hand over her mouth and nose until the child again went limp. Rodriguez then placed the baby back in the playpen, which was approximately two feet away from the bed where the couple had been partying.

Angelina Rodriguez was left unattended until the following afternoon, when Petrov called 911 because the baby was unresponsive. When paramedics arrived, the infant had only faint vital signs and was transported to the hospital where she was found to have severe brain injuries and damage to her organs as a result of a total lack of oxygen to her body.

 
Hospital staff worked to save the child but she was pronounced brain dead and removed from life support on April 15, 2013. Both Rodriguez and Petrov initially denied knowing what happened to the victim but due to the severe nature of the injuries, hospital staff notified police and Rodriguez and Petrov were arrested.

 
Rodriguez and Petrov were found guilty late last year after a bench trial before Cook County Judge Maura Slattery Boyle, who imposed the 85-year sentence on Rodriguez yesterday. Petrov’s sentencing hearing is Dec. 17, 2015 at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building in Chicago.

 
State’s Attorney Alvarez thanked Assistant State’s Attorneys Megan Mulay and Natosha Cuyler-Sherman as well as the Chicago Police Department for their dedicated work on this case.