A judge has delayed the preliminary hearing for a Bakersfield couple accused of torturing and killing an 8-year-old girl.

Ray Mata, Jr., 31, and Graciela Bustamonte, 27, are set to appear in court October 16, 2025.

Mata and Bustamonte are the father and stepmother of Genesis Mata whose abandoned body was discovered August 2 in a bathtub inside a room at La Quinta Inn on Riverside Drive.

The couple’s attorneys say they need more time to review evidence in the case.

Investigators say Genesis was tortured over a two day period by being burned with boiling water, whipped with a cord, and punched in the stomach.

Both suspects are accused of child abuse, torture, and murder.