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Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins announced Nov. 7, that 34-year-old Mark Anthony Briones of Kyle was convicted of Capital Murder for the June 2022 murder of infant Annalyne Fridley Benavides.
Judge Bruce Boyer then sentenced Briones to prison for life without parole.
On June 20, 2022, Mark Anthony Briones was babysitting Annalyne Fridley Benavides, his roommate’s seven month old infant. This was not the first time he had cared for her. Around 5:01 p.m. that day, Annalyne was rushed to Seton Hospital because she wasn’t breathing and had no pulse.
Doctors observed severe bruising all over her body. She was then life flighted to Dell Children's hospital where she was later pronounced brain dead. The defendant stated that Annalyne had been acting normal until she fell off his 12 inch trundle bed and became lifeless.
His story wasn’t consistent with the copious amounts of medical evidence that showed she had detached retinas, anoxic brain injury, and subdural & subarachnoid hemorrhages. Several medical experts testified that her injuries along with the bruising all over her body are consistent with being beaten to death.
The jury was also shown a photograph of Annalyne taken the morning before her death in which the infant appeared to be healthy and had no signs of bruising.
This case was investigated by Kyle Police Department Sgt. Tim Owens and Det. Pedro Carrasco, and prosecuted by Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Katie Arnold and Rebecca Lopez.
“I’d like to thank the witnesses that testified in this case, and the jury for their verdict. It was an honor to fight for that sweet baby girl and to get to tell her story to the jury. We are very grateful for the verdict and we know Annalyne would have been proud” said Katie Arnold. “We hope in some way that her family can have some closure knowing that her murderer will be spending the rest of his life in prison.”
November 1, 2024 would have been Annalyne’s third birthday.
