Father whose wife allegedly beat his daughter to death with rolling pin awaiting verdict

A Gwinnett County father is waiting to learn his fate as a jury decides his role in his young daughter’s brutal death.

Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson was at the courthouse Friday, where a jury is deciding if they will charge Cledir Barros with child cruelty.

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Barros’ wife, Natiela Barros, is accused of beating her step-daughter, Sayra Barros, to death with a rolling pin in January.

Prosecutors originally charged Cledir Barros with second-degree murder but took that charge off the table before the trial started.

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On Thursday, he testified in his own defense.

“What my wife did was abuse. I’m not justifying what my wife did,” Barros said. “I didn’t forgive her because I believe in what she did. Sayra is my daughter. That’s my baby. There’s no one more afflicted than I am.”

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Prosecutors said Barros knew his wife and had a history of physical abuse that left injuries on Sayra, but still withdrew her from school and left her alone with her stepmother.

“If it’s cruel to pull your one child out and leave her with the woman who resents her, who abused her and cut her face, he’s guilty,” Prosecutor Wanda Vance said.

Barros’ attorney said he traveled a lot as a truck driver and he believed his wife when she said the injuries were accidents.

“Could he have been in the dark? He’s there one day a week,” defense attorney Tracy Drake said.

Cledir Barros was not at home at the time of the beating.

Natiela Barros is awaiting her own trial for malice murder.

Cledir Barros testified that he always worked to have a loving and religious household for Sayra and his two other children.

“I have this pain in me that I don’t know will go away,” he said. “I’ve lost 40 to 45 pounds. The daughter is mine. I’ve raised her ever since she was little.”

The jury is currently deliberating.

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