PHOENIX — A grand jury in Maricopa County, Arizona, has indicted a man with a count of first-degree murder and a count of child abuse related to the death of his girlfriend’s son.
In a news release, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said that Diego Miguel Garcia, 23, was arrested in February after a young child suffered severe injuries while under his care. The child was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.
It happened on Feb. 1 at an apartment complex near Central Avenue and Baseline Road in Phoenix, according to KTVK. Phoenix police and paramedics were called to the apartment for an injured child.
According to KTVK, police said that the child had injuries to his head, back, and abdomen. He also had a brain bleed.
Police said the mother had left her son with Garcia, who was her live-in boyfriend, while she was at work. In court documents obtained by KTVK, Garcia called her around 9 p.m. and said that the boy had hit his head while he was playing with another child. He said that his lip was also bleeding. The mother was unable to wake the boy up when she returned home and called 911.
Garcia was interviewed during the morning of Feb. 2 and he allegedly gave them multiple accounts of what had happened. However, none of them were consistent with the boy’s injuries or the scene, according to KSAZ.
Garcia told investigators that the child ran into the edge of a door and hit his head as a result, according to KTVK. Court records said that Garcia also told investigators that the child had fallen off the couch, fallen out of his crib, and hit his head.
The news outlet also reported that Garcia and the boy’s mother had only been dating for around a month.
“Children are some of the most vulnerable in our community and when a child dies at the hands of an adult, this office will seek justice for the tragic loss of life,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the news release.
Garcia has been charged with a count of first-degree murder and a count of child abuse, KSAZ reported. He is also being held on a $2 million bond.
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