A Jefferson Parish judge on Wednesday (May 4) sentenced Pedro Monterroso to spend the rest of his life in prison for his conviction of beating his girlfriend to death as five of his children lay in a bed just feet away.
Monterroso, 51, received the mandatory sentence for his conviction of the second-degree murder of Heidy Monroy, 24.
During an argument over whether she was romantically involved with another man, Monterroso beat her with a length of rebar in the bathroom of their Durand Street apartment in Metairie on July 13, 2014.
Just outside the bathroom were five of his children, three of whom he fathered with Monroy.
Monterroso fled, leaving the two young sons he fathered with Monroy with their mother’s body in the bathtub. Those boys found their mother and alerted a neighbor, who notified the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. Monterroso fled to Texas with the other three children and was arrested the following day.
After denying a defense request for a new trial, 24th Judicial District Judge Donald “Chick” Foret sentenced Monterroso to the mandatory punishment of life in prison without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
Assistant District Attorneys Kellie Rish and Zach Popovich prosecuted the case.