Torres Boles was in court Monday morning for a preliminary hearing in connection with the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of his 3-year-old daughter, Andrea Boles.
Hinesville Police Det. Doug Snider presented testimony on behalf of the state, outlining what took place Feb. 26-27. After 30 minutes of testimony, Liberty County Superior Court Judge Charles P. Rose decided enough probable cause exists to present evidence to a grand jury.
Boles, who faces murder and cruelty to children charges, sat next to his attorney, John Ely, as Snider spoke about the events leading up to Boles’ arrest. Much of the testimony provided details regarding the loss of a young life, allegedly at the hands of abuse.
Snider said the toddler had extensive facial bruises and displayed evidence of bruising to the head and buttocks. He said the little girl allegedly was forced to live locked in a bathroom for months at a time. On the night before she was found unresponsive, Snider claimed Boles reprimanded her for stuffing paper into a toilet, which flooded a substantial portion of the house.
In order to show the toddler how much damage she had caused, Snider said Boles placed her in the bathtub, mopped up the wet floor with a towel and wrung the towel out in the tub where she stood. Snider said Boles claimed the girl slipped several times and hit her head against the tub. Boles denied hitting the toddler but told Snider that when she tried to climb out of the tub, he knocked her hands down, causing her to hit the tub again. The incident lasted several hours, Snider testified. The child then was left in the tub in her wet pajamas to sleep.
Snider said Boles admitted that the child was so severely bruised the following morning that she could barely open her eyes. Boles reportedly told Snider that he changed her into dry clothes but kept her locked in the bathroom when he left for Army training. He reportedly woke up the child’s mother and said the little girl was in the bathroom and OK.
Ely cross-examined Snider and specifically requested information about when statements were taken by police and when Boles was read his Miranda rights.
The child’s mother, Candice Boles, who was not in court, faces charges of being party to the crime of felony murder and cruelty to children.
Ely pointed out it was his client, Torres Boles, who called 911 even though the child’s mother found her unresponsive. Instead of calling emergency personnel, Candice Boles called her husband.
The couple has another daughter who is 4 and is living with other relatives. During testimony, Snider said it appears that both children were treated the same way except that the older sibling turned 4 and started attending pre-K. Testimony indicated the couple spent money on two new cars, a 40-inch TV and other household items but not on childcare to cover the time each day during which Candice Boles was in school and Torres Boles was at work.