Jury selection got underway Monday in Oakland County for the trial of a man accused of killing hiss baby in a Farmington Hills motel room three years ago.
Isaias Porras, 34, is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse tor the 2021 slaying of his 15-month-old son, Isaiah Daniel Porras. Police conducting a welfare check at the Motel 6 on Grand River Avenue near Haggerty Road in Farmington Hills found the toddler’s body under a pile of blankets on Oct. 3, 2021. Isaias had been staying at the motel with his father and his mother, Amanda Jajou, who was also charged in the homicide.
A competency evaluation determined Porras to be incompetent but “restorable” — and he eventually regained competency with the use of medication, according to court records. Porras reportedly received inpatient treatment at the state’s Center for Forensic Psychiatry.
Jajou, 33, was sentenced in July to 15-60 years in prison for second-degree murder and a concurrent sentence of 3-5 years for accessory after the fact to a felony. She pleaded no contest to both charges; charges of first-degree murder and child abuse were dismissed.
An autopsy indicated Isaiah Porras died from brain damage caused by blunt force injury to the head.
According to a child abuse pediatrician who testified at Jajou’s and Porras’ preliminary exam in 2022, Isaiah was struck at least 10 to 20 times and suffered severe head trauma as well as significant bruising to his chest. As testified to by Farmington Hills Police Detective Robert Gerak, Porras told him the child was a distraction, described him as a “demon” and said he and Jajou took turns slapping him. The beatings reportedly continued for weeks.
The trial is being held before Oakland County Circuit Judge Jeffery Matis.