Stephanie lopez baby brianna pics

LAS CRUCES - Stephanie Rene Lopez, who served 13 years in prison for the 2002 death of her 5½-month-old daughter, Brianna Lopez — the Doña Ana County infant who died as a result of horrific physical and sexual abuse by family members and later became a symbol in efforts to toughen child abuse laws in New Mexico — walked out of a Cibola County prison as a free woman on Wednesday.

Lopez, now 33, was sentenced to 27 years in prison in 2003 after she was found guilty of negligent child abuse resulting in death and a second child abuse charge.

Brianna’s father, paternal grandmother and two of her uncles also were convicted in the child’s death, following a joint trial that spanned two weeks in Albuquerque.

Brianna’s death on July 19, 2002, is believed to be one of the worst cases of child abuse cases in New Mexico. Her autopsy revealed extensive injuries to her head and brain, which proved fatal.

Her tiny body was covered in bruises and