A father has said it is his job to forgive and God's job to judge after a Texas man pleaded guilty to killing his 10-month-old daughter.

Trevor Rowe was charged with stuffing Marion Jester-Montoya into a backpack and then leaving her inside a vehicle for hours while he was at work, according to reports.

On Friday, Rowe pleaded guilty to capital murder in Lubbock, Texas, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to a KCBD report.

The child's father, Emilio Montoya, spoke to local media about the sentencing and his forgiveness towards his former friend following the infant's death in 2020.

He said: "It is my job to forgive and God's job to judge."

He also said that the two men used to be close friends and spoke about how they interacted.

He said: "He was crying as I was talking to him as well, we never broke eye contact. I will never truly just hate him because there were good times along with what has happened today.

"I still hold on to her ashes, right here, and I will always keep her with me whenever any big events or something comes up.

"I will always remember her laughing and smiling. That curiosity [as to why Rowe did this] makes me want to say, as a friend can't you just tell me what exactly happened that day?"

According to a KIRO 7 report, Rowe had picked up the 10-month-old from his girlfriend's home and took her to his job site.

He initially left her in a backpack on the front passenger seat floorboard for at least five hours. During this time, Rowe did check on the child periodically, said the report.

Upon one inspection, Marion Jester-Montoya had gotten out of the backpack, forcing Rowe to put her back in.

When he checked on her during his lunch he unzipped the bag and found the child was lightly crying but breathing.

After this, the child was reportedly moved through the backseat to the trunk. According to the report, at about 4:50 p.m., Rowe checked on her to find she had turned white and was not breathing.

Police said Rowe then called 911 and drove to another area of town where he tried CPR until first responders arrived.

The child was taken to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead. The autopsy found that the girl had died of asphyxiation.

Newsweek has contacted the Lubbock Police Department via email for comment.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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