Matthew Zabala
SAN JOSE – A San Jose man has been arrested for the brutal beating and murder of his younger daughter. 32-year-old Matthew Zabala was arrested for the beating death of his six-week old daughter Mila. According to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s report, Mila suffered nine broken ribs, a fractured left arm, multiple leg fractures, and a fractured skull. Zabala will face a murder charge in the case.
Because of the severity of the beating, it is suspected that Mila suffered for several days before succumbing to her injuries. Zabala admitted to investigators that he had injured Mila when he forcibly removed her from the car seat, slamming her head inside the car.
What is even more disturbing in this case is that this was not the first time Zabala has been in trouble for severely injuring his daughter. Several years ago Zabala was charged with beating his older daughter and was sentenced to a seven-month jail term. However, it was reported that Zabala was only was outfitted with a monitoring ankle bracelet and did not serve time in jail for the violent beating.
Despite Zabala’s tendency to brutalize his children, he was still able to visit with them and continued to be with his wife and daughters until the death of Mila.
Zabala was arraigned on Monday, August 29, in which a million-dollar bail was set for his release. Zabala is being held in the Milpitas Elmwood facility and is expected to remain in custody.
