Leonard Orta Jr. Gets 18 Years in Prison for Starving 5-Year-Old Niece to Death

By Matthew Hendley Fri., Feb. 1 2013 at 2:30 PM

Leonard Orta Jr.

A Phoenix man who let his 5-year-old niece starve to death in his apartment -- then did nothing as her body was decomposing in the apartment -- will be going to prison.

Leonard Orta Jr., 49, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, as part of a plea agreement, in which Orta pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

See also:
-Criminal Complaint Filed Against Uncle of 5-Year-Old Girl Found Decomposing in Apartment

His niece, 5-year-old Kaiya Kapahu, suffered from Rett Syndrome -- which prevented her from speaking or walking -- was sent by her family to Phoenix from Hawaii to live with relatives, so she could receive treatment she couldn't get in Hawaii.

The girl lived with Orta and her grandfather at the apartment, starting in July 2009.

Police believed that in January 2010, Orta stopped giving the girl her medications, and eventually stopped feeding her after the grandfather himself was having medical issues, and was hospitalized. According to a previously obtained police report, the girl died after 10 days.

While the girl's grandfather was at home recovering, he had asked Orta where the girl was. Orta insisted the girl had been hospitalized, but the grandfather continued to get suspicious.

Eventually, the grandfather could smell an odor coming from the girl's room -- which ended up being the smell of the girl's decomposing body -- and he demanded he be let in the room.

Orta denied him access, and the grandfather called police. Sure enough, the girl's body was in there. Police estimated the girl had been dead in the room for about a month.

Orta was initially charged with first-degree murder -- and other crimes -- but he ended up pleading guilty to a second-degree murder charge.

James King contributed to this post.

Tags:

arizona, child abuse, leonard orta, murder, phoenix, phoenix police department

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az_resident

2 Like

Believe me as big and obese this monster looks in the photo. I'm sure being lock up he'll know what it feels like to be starved.... Now its his turn... He should have been listed to be put to sleep.... With Out... a single crumb in his body.. Give him a taste of his own medicine...

cugagcmu80

2 Like

It takes a special kind of mother f*cker to mistreat a child. When word gets out that he's a child killer in the prison he's headed to, his fellow inmates will mete out their own forms of justice on him.

trankmonk

1 Like

Not enough man, I say off with the losers head at once!

www.UGetAnon.tk

HaddieNuff

2 Like

@trankmonk Too easy on the MFer! As others have said, this guy needs to be in the main prison population with everyone knowing exactly what he did.

danzigsdaddy topcommenter

1 Like

as much as i think Arrodondo got a slap on the wrist, kiss on the cheek and a cake walk for his crimes, i think this guy got off lighter than Arrodondo did

thinkkoolaid

3 Like

yep, obviously he has not passed up any buffets lately. What a loser...only 18 years...I hope he is forced to walk around the prison yard with a big red target on his backside with instructions that he is a child killer and deserved to have his "time with the boys"...over and over and over....now that is exactly what this pathetic loser deserves. Now that would be a kodak moment.

HaddieNuff

3 Like

Too bad we live in a semi-civilized society where he can't be sujected to his own treatment. He surely doesn't look like he's suffered from a lack of food. How many times did that little girl lay there and smell food cooking before she died?