A Georgia father is outraged after the man police say murdered his pregnant daughter was released on bail.
Edward Campos, the father of 16-year-old Mia Campos, made the comments hours after a Gwinnett County judge granted bail to 20-year-old Jesus Monroy.
Monroy, his daughter’s ex-boyfriend, was seen walking out of jail with his family at midnight on Thursday. He is believed to be the father of the victim’s unborn child.
Despite this, he posted the $56,000 bail, more than a month after he was charged with the girl’s murder. A seven-month pregnant Campos was found dead in the woods after she disappeared from her home with Monroy on July 14.
A month and a half later, Campos expressed his disgust towards Action news from Channel 2.
Mia Campos, 16, was found dead in a forest in her home state of Georgia a day after she disappeared from her home on July 14. She was seven months pregnant
A Gwinnett County judge has granted bail to 20-year-old Jesus Monroy, who is reportedly the father of the victim’s unborn child
“It just keeps getting worse,” the grieving father said after Judge Karen E. Beyers’ ruling.
“You see her room, and it’s just an empty box.”
He then lamented that his daughter, who was found dead on July 15, was due to give birth to her son the following week.
“Now I don’t have my grandchild anymore,” he said. “And now I don’t have my daughter anymore.”
This comes after officers arrested Monroy on four felony charges, including murder.
But after hearing the defense attorney. Everything went [down] “The hole,” Campos said of the hearing held the day before, where Monroy was told he would be going home.
‘It all went down the drain.’
There, Monroy’s attorney successfully argued that the evidence against his client was circumstantial and that he therefore posed no threat.
Judge Karen E. Beyers on Wednesday granted the adult man $56,000 bail, with his family paying the required $5,600 to help him get out of jail
Relatives of the murdered woman who was found dead last month while seven months pregnant were not happy with the decision
The lawyer also pointed out that the suspect had no criminal record prior to his current criminal case. As a result, the 20-year-old who is believed to be the father of the unborn child was not considered a flight risk.
Given the seriousness of the charge, the attorney requested a $75,000 bond.
Judge Beyers came back with an even lower amount of $50,000, but jail records show the defendant’s bail ended up being $56,000.
Such a decision is rare in murder cases, where bail for suspects can sometimes run into the millions, if it is granted at all.
Moreover, Monroy’s family only had to pay the required 10 percent: a mere $5,600.
Meanwhile, the Campos family still hopes for justice, even though they will never see the victim — and her son — again.
“His family can see him and they can talk to him,” Campos told Channel 2 on Thursday. “They can hug him. I can’t do that with my daughter. Because my daughter is gone, Sebastian [the named of his daughter’s unborn son] is gone.’
When she was found, her body was swollen, cold and purple, family members told police, who also said the teen’s hand was on her stomach.
Campos’ mother, Miriam Zarate (pictured), said she found her daughter just minutes from their home, hiding in dense undergrowth
“I’m going to get justice,” Campos said Thursday despite the suspect’s release. “I’m going to get justice because I feel 100 percent (he did it).” The age of consent in Georgia is 16
Monroy, meanwhile, surrendered his passport to the court as part of the bail agreement, and is also banned from contacting witnesses in the case.
This comes just weeks after he was caught allegedly “making false statements to a police officer” following his arrest on July 19.
Campos’ mother, Miriam Zarate, said last month she found her daughter just minutes from their home, hiding in dense undergrowth
When she was found, her body was swollen, cold and purple, Zarate recalled, and she also claimed her daughter’s hand was on her stomach.
“I found my daughter face down,” Campos told Atlanta News First at the time. “It was tough. I knew something was wrong — her lips, her nose bleeding.”
Mia was the youngest of five children, he said, adding that they were all still in shock over the loss.
“I’m going to get justice,” Campos said Thursday, despite the suspect’s release. “I’m going to get justice because I’m 100 percent convinced that (he did it).”
In Georgia, the legal age for sexual acts is 16.
