ORANGE, Texas — A Texas appeals court has denied the appeal of an Orange County father who brutally murdered his 2-year-old daughter in 2019.
The Texas Ninth Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Yovahnis Roque, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being found guilty of capital murder in the 2019 death of his 2-year-old daughter.
Roque was convicted after a three-day trial before Judge Courtney Arkeen in Orange County's 128th District Court in August 2021.
He had pleaded "not guilty" by reason of insanity which would mean that at the time he killed his daughter he was suffering from a "severe mental disease or defect" and would not have known that his actions were wrong.
Roque told police that he had killed his daughter to remove a microchip that had been implanted inside her body according to file stories.
During the trial prosecutors presented evidence they said showed that Roque was "voluntarily intoxicated" when he killed his daughter by hitting her in the head with a claw hammer.
Voluntary intoxication does not constitute a defense for committing a crime.
The jury of nine men and three women agreed with prosecutors and found him guilty.
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In his appeal Roque claimed that the trial court should not have allowed the state to admit evidence of voluntary intoxication.
His appeal claimed that the voluntary intoxication evidence prejudiced the jury and that if it had not been admitted the jury would have found him not guilty by reason of insanity.
Yovahnis Roque makes court appearance in murder of his daughter, bond set at $2M
Roque was arrested naked and covered in blood on the front porch of his house on Feb. 19, 2019. After detaining him, police entered the house and found his daughter’s body in a bedroom closet, according to a 2019 news release.
During Roque's first court appearance, he could be heard saying the government made him do it and “this is fake, it’s all fake.” At one point he repeated, “I don’t know what you want from me.
Roque was indicted on the capital murder charge on April 11, 2019.
In a 2019 interview with 12News, Martha Roque, Roque's mother said she was filled with mixed emotions. She said Yovahnis Roque loved Savannah, and while she believes he’s ill, she said that will never excuse what he did.
Martha Roque said the morning of the murder, she had gone to see Orange County Judge Chad Jenkins to have Roque picked up and evaluated, but when she got back, it was too late.
Family and friends of Roque said he had struggled with mental illness, drug use and the 2016 death of his daughter’s mother, Rachel Foster.
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Savanna Roque was later taken to Florida to be buried near her mother's grave.