Jury convicts Trevor Bishop of second degree murder, assault on a child causing death
VISALIA – A Visalia man was sentenced for murder last week for severely beating a young boy into a coma that later killed him. On Dec. 14, Tulare County Superior Court Judge Joseph Kalashian sentenced Trevor Bishop, 34, of Visalia to 25 years to life in prison for the assault and murder of three-year-old Jimmy Horton.
Trevor Bishop, 34, sentenced 25 years to life in prison. Submitted photo.
On April 27, a Tulare County jury convicted Bishop of one count of second-degree murder and one felony count of assault on a child causing death. On March 21, 2013, Bishop was taking care of his girlfriend’s children, Jimmy and a female toddler. Bishop lived with them in Visalia for four months. On that day, Bishop took Jimmy to Kaweah Delta Urgent Care because he was allegedly found unconscious in his bedroom. Doctors transferred Jimmy to Kaweah Delta Medical Center, and then to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. It was discovered that Jimmy had severe bruising over his torso and genitals.
Jimmy never regained consciousness and remained in a vegetative state. He was cared for by his father, who tended to him until Jimmy’s passing 11 months later. At trial, evidence showed a pattern of abuse sustained by the defenseless young boy at the hands of Bishop. Doctors testified Jimmy had received non-accidental blunt force trauma to the head and suffered an acute subdural hematoma, severe brain swelling, and a mid-line shift of the brain stem.
The case was prosecuted by Supervising Deputy District Attorney Brenda Broker with assistance from District Attorney Paralegal Patty Wagner. It was investigated by Scott Nelson and Mona Whaley of the Visalia Police Department and Tim Willmore and Mario Martin of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations.
