Monday, June 29, 2009

Boyfriend throws 2-year-old onto concrete floor; she dies of head injuries (Chandler, Arizona)

Abuser JERAMIAS JOEL AGUILAR threw his girlfriend's two-year-old daughter to the floor because "she wouldn't stop crying." The little girl died two weeks later of head injuries. Her body was also found to have bruises and cigarette burns on it. Aguilar has admitted to abusing the mother and baby in the past, yet the mother was also arrested for "being present" during the incident and not being able to call 911 for two hours. Whether she would have been able to intervene or call earlier is far from evident, but that doesn't much matter when it comes to charges against mothers.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/2009/06/19/20090619abrk-chandlerabuse0619.html

2-year-old in Chandler child abuse case dies

by Jessica Andrews and Megan Boehnke - Jun. 19, 2009 02:41 PMThe Arizona Republic

The 2-year-old victim in a Chandler child abuse case has died of her injuries nearly two weeks after the mother's boyfriend admitted to authorities throwing the girl on a concrete floor because she wouldn't stop crying.

The girl was taken to the hospital June 6, and the mother and the boyfriend both reportedly told officials the child had fallen down.

Doctors later found cigarette burns and bruising on her arms, legs, neck, back and face.

Jeramias Joel Aguilar, 21, who had initially given a false name, eventually admitted that he had carried the baby from the bathroom to the kitchen and became so angry with the girl for crying that he threw her on the concrete floor, according to authorities.

The girl landed on her head, according to his statement to police.

Aguilar, whom police described as an illegal immigrant, is in custody without bond.

He had been living with his girlfriend and her daughter for four months and admitted hitting the child and her mother in the past, often when the baby cried. While at the hospital, several family members told officers that Aguilar had abused the girl's mother in the past.

The mother, Josefa Talavera, was arrested June 10 because she was present at the time of the abuse and did not call 911 for at least two hours after the incident.

The girl was initially taken to Gilbert Mercy Medical Center after police said she wasn't breathing when they arrived on the scene. She was later transferred to St. Joseph's and was on life support with no brain activity until Thursday.

Aguilar was booked on felony child abuse and Talavera on failure to protect a child. Police are reviewing the case for the possible filing of additional charges.