Houston father faces ultimate punishment ‘for beating his six week-old twin daughters to death’

A father accused of beating his newborn twin daughters to death will be executed if found guilty.

Fernando Vega, 22, was arrested on April 19 and charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a child, along with mother Angelina Belinda Calderon, 21.

His charges were upgraded to two counts of capital murder after investigators were convinced he was the only one who could have allegedly killed them.

Six-week-old Massail and Mirena were found dead in their home on Linden Creek Way in Houston around 11:15 a.m. on October 4 last year.

Police said the babies were found on the couch with discolored skin, bruises on their bodies and one of the girls had fractures.

The babies were born far prematurely but had not received medical care since being released from the hospital, court documents allege.

Dr. Jesus Rico, a pathologist at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science, found dehydration, bruising and fractures that indicated previous abuse.

Both twins were malnourished, one showed signs of acute hemorrhage in the brain, and one also in their spinal cord, indicating recent trauma.

Prosecutor Edward Appelbaum told the court Wednesday that he wanted to fully investigate their deaths before considering murder charges.

Fernando Vega, 22, was arrested on April 19 and charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a child, now his charges have been upgraded to two counts of capital murder

Angelina Belinda Calderon (pictured), 21, was also charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a child

“These injuries are quite serious and based on the symptoms and the injuries, he was the only person who was around these children, the only person who could have potentially inflicted these injuries,” he said.

Appelbaum previously described the allegations as “horrific” and said there were both old and new injuries.

Vega pleaded not guilty to the original charges and his lawyer Mario Madrid said this was still the case for the murder charges.

‘He is not guilty, according to the law he is innocent at this point. We still have a long investigation ahead and a lot of evidence to review,” he told the court.

An autopsy revealed that both twins were malnourished, with one showing signs of acute cerebral haemorrhage and the other suffering from bleeding in the brain and spinal cord.

Calderon still faces only lesser charges, but prosecutors have not ruled out upgrading the charge to murder as the investigation continues.

Vega claimed he dropped Calderon off at work and returned home to find the twins not breathing, despite the autopsy showing the children had died from injuries caused by a blunt object.

He told police the twins were “fussy” all night, and he put them in a crib.

According to court documents, Calderon did not wake the babies in the morning because she was on her way to work.

Calderon’s sister told a local news station in April that she was “one of the best mothers I know,” and insisted she was at work the day the children died.

Calderon had an emotional outburst during an initial probable cause hearing

Calderon had an emotional outburst during an initial court hearing in April.

“You were the last one to be with my kids when they fucking died. You make me look like I’m a bad person. I was at work when they fucking died,” she wailed.

Calderon’s aunt, Sarah Calderon, told local news that both parents should be held accountable for their actions.

‘I’m just really disappointed, it hurts, it really breaks my heart. They both need to be held accountable,” she said.

“Because, okay, even though I don’t think she would physically harm them, like the babies weren’t even being taken care of.”

Calderon and Vega are both being held in the Harris County Jail, Calderon on $750,000 bail and Vega on $3 million.