Human Wreckage True Crime
Join us as we navigate the wreckage left behind by humanity’s darkest instincts.
Disturbing True Crime Stories, These include, murderers, kidnappings, serial killers. Solved and unsolved.
Human Wreckage True Crime
The Cruel End of Malachi
Happy Mother's Day weekend to all you moms. Enjoy every moment with her fam. Read Belinda Magana's MySpace page in 2009. Just the next evening, belinda called Corona California police and asked them to come to her apartment that she shared with her boyfriend of five months, michael Nareen. Belinda said that her two-year-old son, malachi Magana, had disappeared while they were at a family barbecue at a park nearby. Welcome to this episode of Human Wreckage.
Speaker 1:Today's episode is about a little boy whose life was far too short Malachi Magana. Malachi was just two years old when he died in 2009. At an age when most toddlers are just starting to find their words to explore the world with clumsy steps and bursts of laughter, malachi's life was cut tragically short and in the wake of his death, there were questions. Questions about how, why and what could have been done to prevent it. Let's get into it. So An extensive search for the toddler ensued, including volunteers on foot, bloodhounds and a police helicopter. The search turned up no clues. When Belinda and Michael were questioned, police started to doubt their story and found inconsistencies and discrepancies. Furthermore, when Belinda called the police, she sounded unnaturally calm as the search was underway. Neither Belinda nor Michael exhibited signs of distress and didn't even participate in the search.
Speaker 1:In the early morning hours of the following day, the body of Malachi was found in rugged terrain just off Little Creek Road. Belinda had directed police there, telling them that Michael had killed him. When she was out of the house, malachi's body was riddled with bruises and burn marks. It was evident that he had lived a traumatic and violent life. Both Belinda and Michael were charged with one count each of murder, torture and assault on a child causing death. They were both scheduled to stand trial and due to the torture charge, which was a mitigating factor, they would both be facing a death sentence. Prosecutors said that Malachi had essentially been abused to death.
Speaker 1:Shortly before his death, either Belinda or Michael poured boiling hot liquid over Malachi. It scalded a layer of skin off his head, neck and back. Neither adult decided to seek medical treatment for Malachi Due to the burns. Malachi had cried out in pain, but when he cried he was brutally beaten with a belt. Malachi's autopsy showed that he had suffered extensive scalding as well as blunt force trauma to the head. Attorneys couldn't decide on whether the primary cause of death was the blunt force trauma or sepsis from the untreated scalding injury. When he died, however, he was wrapped in a plastic bag and stuffed into the car. His four-year-old brother also climbed into the car and the family drove to a party in Apple Valley. On the way there, they stopped in wasteland off Little Creek in San Bernardino County and buried him in a shallow grave.
Speaker 1:According to one of Belinda's defense lawyers, ryan Markson, michael was domineering and controlling and forced Belinda to use physical discipline on her son. He argued that Melinda wasn't home when Malachi was burned and that Michael wouldn't allow her to seek medical treatment. Allow her to seek medical treatment. One of Michael's defense lawyers, michael Belter, refuted this claim and instead said that Belinda was an extremely neglectful and abusive mother who had been abusive long before Michael began dating her. Just five months before Malachi's murder, there were several relatives who corroborated these claims. Malachi was the product of rape and Belinda had always treated him differently. Furthermore, as Malachi was dying, michael went to Long Beach overnight to DJ and Belinda still didn't seek out medical help. She wasn't held hostage, she had a phone, she had a car. She left for the store, said Prosecutor Dama Calhoun. Two separate juries found Belinda Magana and Michael Noreen guilty of all charges.
Speaker 1:In opening statements of the penalty phase, riverside County Deputy District Attorney Dayma Calhoun described how Belinda was acting violently in jail. She had already been in several jailhouse fights. In one, she grabbed an inmate from behind and slashed her face with a razor blade, kicked her and then tried to throw her off the second floor. In another fight, she slashed an inmate on the arm from a neighboring cell. This highlighted the fact that Belinda was capable of committing violence. Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Day McCalhoun also said that Michael had a history of domestic abuse against two of his former wives. He described how each relationship drastically changed from kind and loving to domineering and violent. His first wife, renee Helen, described how their relationship had deteriorated and finally reached breaking point when Michael punched her in the face. His second wife, marizla Nareen, said that Michael often berated her and punched her so hard in the chest that she had trouble breathing. On the 2nd of May 2015, both Belinda Magana and Michael Noreen were sentenced to death.
Speaker 1:As we come to the end of today's episode, we hold space for the memory of Malachi Magana, a little boy whose life, though brief, touched the hearts of those who knew him and continues to echo far beyond his two years. Malachi wasn't just a name in a headline. He was a son, a grandson, a curious, bright-eyed child with a future stolen far too soon. His story reminds us of the profound fragility of life and the deep responsibility we all share as individuals, as communities and as systems, to protect our most vulnerable. What happened in 2009 should never have happened, and the years since have only deepened the grief and sharpened the questions. For Malachi's family, the pain has not faded, but neither has their determination. They are still asking for answers, still asking for justice and, most of all, still making sure that Malachi's name is spoken, remembered and honored.
Speaker 1:If today's episode moved you, we encourage you to share Malachi's story, not just as a tragedy but as a call for change. And if you or someone you know is navigating loss, we see you. You're not alone. Thank you for joining us on Human Wreckage. We tell these stories not because they are easy to hear, but because they matter. Until next time, I'm Thomas. Take care of yourselves and take care of each other. The Thank you you.