Denver mother ran errands while her scalded child was dying

[greysfang]

denver & the west
Affidavit: Mom delayed care for scalded Denver tot

By Tom McGhee
The Denver Post

Article Last Updated: 11/10/2008 11:00:16 PM MST




The mother of a toddler who died of burns had fabricated a story with her boyfriend to explain the injuries and waited hours before taking him to the hospital, according to police.

Isela Reyes-Talamentes, 23, and her boyfriend, John Vigil, 21, are in custody and suspected of child abuse in the death of Elijah Archuleta, 2.

Information in a probable-cause affidavit indicates the boy may have been dead when the couple arrived at St. Anthony Central Hospital late Friday.

Medical personnel who saw Elijah said he was burned over 75 percent of his body and had a black eye, according to the report.

The couple were in a triage room with the child wrapped to the head in blankets when Gregory Busby, a triage nurse, came in. "As R.N. Busby approached, he asked how the child was burned. The male stated the child was burned yesterday, a day ago, while standing in a bathtub; he turned on the hot water on himself," according to the report.

They brought the child to the hospital because he was choking not because of the burns, Vigil said.

Busby noticed the child wasn't breathing and, while running with him, administered two "rescue breaths, and then realized the child was ice cold and then found no pulse," according to the affidavit.

Medical personnel tried to revive the boy for up to 30 minutes before pronouncing him dead.

Denver police went to 925 Osage St., where the couple lived with the boy and his sister, Serenity, 4, and found a baby blanket on a bedroom floor stained with "some unknown red substance."

There were three adults and six children in the tiny home; police took them to headquarters on Cherokee Street for questioning.

The names of children, including Elijah's, are blacked out in the report. But it indicates that Serenity told police Vigil burned the child. "The 4 year-old related that John John (Vigil) had burned (Elijah. She) also talked about (Elijah) being on the floor and choking (and) related that John John was mad at Mommy because Mommy was crying because (Elijah) had died."


"I want to see my son," cried Jim Archuleta, center, father of 2-year-old Elijah, who died Friday night. Archuleta stands with his stepfather Eloy Barela, left, and friend Amber Swenson during a vigil Sunday evening at O'Kane Park in Lakewood. (For The Denver Post | Dana Romanoff)


Reyes-Talamentes first told police that Vigil gave the boy a bath after they came home from a "court thing" scheduled for Vigil. He is currently serving a three-year deferred sentence for drug dealing.

She was in another room with the music turned up when Vigil brought the child in and told her Elijah had burned himself.

He assured her that Elijah would be OK and applied a burn lotion to the injuries, Reyes-Talamentes told police.

On the way to the hospital, the boy stopped breathing, and Vigil administered CPR, she said.

She then changed her story, saying that when Vigil picked her up from work at about 1:25 p.m., the boy was in his carseat, dressed and wrapped in a blanket.

Vigil told her that her son had turned on the hot water while reaching for a sponge toy. Vigil was outside at the time, he told her.

She noticed the child's hands and face were red and "she could sense that something was wrong."

The couple went to a bank and withdrew $600, then bought gas and drove to court. When Vigil's court date was finished, they drove to Walgreens, where Vigil paid $8 for burn lotion.

Then they went to Chipotle and from there to Wal-Mart, where they bought chips, sliced turkey and Lunchables.

At about 7:15 p.m. they returned home. "During the ride and stop at the house," the boy was calm, his mother told police.

John Vigil and Isela Reyes-Talamentes were arrested in her son's death. (Denver Police)



"John went to the Taqueria Mi Pueblo to hang out with friends. While at home, John took off (the boy's) clothes, and Ms. Reyes saw the extent of his injuries."

Later, Reyes-Talamentes noticed that Elijah didn't "look right," the report said.

"She told John that they needed to go to the hospital. But John refused, saying that he could treat the baby himself."

Reyes-Talamentes then dropped off Serenity at her mother's house and drove to St. Anthony's. John held Elijah in the back seat.

"Ms. Reyes confessed during the interview that she knew of the extent of (the) injuries and did not immediately seek medical attention. Ms. Reyes said that she paid John Vigil money to take care" of the child.

She said the two planned to lie to medical personnel and police and tell them Elijah was burned at about 7:45 p.m., just after John bathed him.

Complications caused by scalding led to the boy's death, according to the Denver coroner's office.

"An autopsy was completed by our office, and the cause of death was due to complications of thermal injuries (scalding)," according to a release from Michelle Weiss-Samaras of the coroner's office.

Today, representatives of the Archdiocese of Denver picked up Elijah's body for burial. Services for the child have yet to be arranged, said Desiree Moreno, a friend of James Archuleta, Elijah's father.


Affidavit: Mom delayed care for scalded Denver tot - The Denver Post

This story is just making me sick. The nurse who tried to revive the baby and the baby's real father are devastated and crying on the news. They've had to start fundrasing because the dad works three jobs, but can't afford to bury his baby.

I hope these bitches suffer for what they did.

[Quazar]

That poor dear child. I can't imagine the pain he must have felt. And at the hands of the people that are supposed to protect you. He was born to die a miserable death.

This is where the phrase "Do unto others" comes in.

[Charmed Hour]

Holy shit, wtf? That poor baby, the pain he must have felt. To be burned that badly... poor big sister old enough to understand and relay what happened to her baby brother.

That shitty excuse for a mother needs to burn and "john John" needs to have a bat to his head a time or 50. The mother knew how severely that child was burned and still allowed him to suffer? I'm going to be sick.

That has to be one of the evilest looking mugshots I have ever seen.

[DeadDwarf]

There really are no words. I can't imagine what that child went through.

I'm so sick of reading about these women that let men hurt their babies. As a mother, your first and most important purpose on earth is to protect your child. These stupid women are putting their children in harm's way for their piece of shit boyfriend/husband.

This is unforgiveable and they both should suffer as long as possible. Sadly, they will never get what they deserve.

[flipstick]

Wow, don't we need people to test whether sharks will attack people ? I swear to god when I hear this kind of shit, countries like Afganistan seem to make alot more sense with their burying them up to the neck and stoning them to death tactics.

[LynnieD]

These people need to stop breeding. NOW.

I have no words.

Yet, loving gay and lesbian couples aren't allowed to adopt when they WANT to, and these fucks have a bunch of kids that they clearly don't want. I just cannot make sense of this.

Sorry to say, that perhaps the child is better off....

[witchcurlgirl]

monsters really do exist, they just look the same as us so we don't always recognize them right off.

this is horrific.

[Just Kill Me]

Douse with gasoline and light on fire; the problem of their undeserved continued existence is solved.

I can't wrap my mind around this child's suffering. All of these stories; I've a running list in my mind. I feel so fucking useless sitting here in my office; what can I do? How the fuck can this shit be stopped?

[greysfang]

What pisses me off is the boy had a loving father with an extended family who I'm sure would have been happy to take custody of the boy, instead that bitch is so worried about keeping her bf that she lets him murder her baby and tries to cover for him.

[Just Kill Me]

Don't forget she kept the father from his children. Fuck her. Seriously, burn the bitch alive.

[LynnieD]

What pisses me off is the boy had a loving father with an extended family who I'm sure would have been happy to take custody of the boy, instead that bitch is so worried about keeping her bf that she lets him murder her baby and tries to cover for him.

That poor father. Loved his son, worked 3 jobs. Was TRYING to better himself. And look what the fuck happens. Can't even bury his kid.....I feel horrible for him. Merry Christmas!

[witchcurlgirl]

What the fuck is wrong with these women???


They sentenced this bitch yesterday here in NY. This was a huge case when it happened, too late to save the little girl though.

Mother Gets 43 Years in Death of Child, 7


Saying that Nixzaliz Santiago had failed in her “duty” to save her own dying daughter, a judge on Wednesday sentenced the mother of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown to up to 43 years in prison for her role in a case of abuse that horrified New Yorkers and prompted an overhaul of the city’s child welfare system.

The sentence, the maximum term, means that Ms. Santiago, 30, could be in prison for a dozen years longer than her husband, Cesar Rodriguez, 30, Nixzmary’s stepfather, who, prosecutors said, beat the girl repeatedly and struck the fatal blow in January 2006. Mr. Rodriguez was convicted of manslaughter in a separate trial in March, and is serving a sentence of up to 29 years in prison.

Ms. Santiago was convicted of manslaughter, assault and other charges on Oct. 17.

Outside of court on Wednesday, the lead prosecutor, Ama Dwimoh, said that because of “different evidence” — especially videotaped statements the two gave to the authorities — Ms. Santiago had faced additional assault charges. Ms. Dwimoh said the disparity between the sentences imposed on the couple was logical.

“Being held accountable for what you do and don’t do are one and the same under the law,” she said.

The issue of neglect figured prominently in the long, passionate sentencing comments that the judge, Justice Patricia M. DiMango, delivered in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.

Speaking of that night in January, Justice DiMango said: “By your own statements, she gasped for air, moaning, and called for you twice until she died. You, Ms. Santiago, ignored these desperate calls.
“You may not have delivered the fatal blow, but the jury found it was in your power to prevent the effects of it,” she continued. “Were it not for your failure to act, Nixzmary Brown would have probably not died from that blow on that day.”

Through her lawyers, Ms. Santiago chose not to speak in court when given the chance and showed little reaction when the sentence was read.

One of her lawyers, Kathleen M. Mullin, said outside court that her client was “inconsolable,” especially since protection orders would prevent her from seeing her five other children for the length of her prison term.

“The concept of Cesar Rodriguez being free, walking on the streets for a decade prior to when she is eligible to be released is — I can’t even wrap my mind around it,” Ms. Mullin said. “It’s a matter of justice — overarching justice.”

The judge called the Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment where Nixzmary lived with her parents and her five siblings a “house of horrors.” There, the 7-year-old was bound to chairs with rope or bungee cords, beaten and forced to defecate in a cat’s litter box. Child welfare workers failed to heed warnings that Nixzmary was being abused.

On Jan. 11, 2006, Mr. Rodriguez forced Nixzmary’s head under a faucet and left her “cold and naked on a wooden floor,” the judge said. Ms. Santiago told the police that she bathed her daughter, tried to give her some water, and then put her to bed, before tending her infant son. An autopsy found that Nixzmary had died of cranial bleeding caused by blows to the head.

In March, a deeply divided jury convicted Mr. Rodriguez of manslaughter but acquitted him of murder. Justice L. Priscilla Hall sentenced Mr. Rodriguez to the maximum term.

Shortly after Mr. Rodriguez’s trial, jurors said that prosecutors had not proved that Mr. Rodriguez acted with “depraved indifference to human life,” the standard for second-degree murder. Mr. Rodriguez had admitted to the authorities that he had abused Nixzmary, and that he had beaten her severely on the night she died as punishment for jamming his computer printer.

A juror in that case, Nicole Dorce, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that Ms. Santiago bore a greater responsibility than her husband: “She was the mother. It’s her duty to protect her child. He killed her, and she allowed it.”

Until minutes before she was sentenced on Wednesday, Ms. Santiago’s lawyers tried to portray her as a deeply troubled woman who had lived for a time in a homeless shelter and had become dependent on men. Her troubled nature, they said, was seen in her reaction to a miscarriage in 2005, when she brought fetal tissue home and kept it in a jar. “She’s not a monster, judge,” said her lawyer, Sammy Sanchez, in court. “She’s had a very tough life.”

Those entreaties and the lawyers’ arguments that Ms. Santiago’s sentences should run concurrently and not consecutively, did not move the judge, who delivered a withering recapitulation of the trial: the bruises on the young girl, the “raccoonlike black eyes,” the horrors inflicted on a sister “with five other children in the house.”

“You were the mother,” Justice DiMango said. “You left this 7-year-old alone, and you did nothing.”



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/ny...xzmary.html?hp

[LynnieD]

I can't read this shit anymore.....

[AliceInWonderland]

^ I cant either lynnie

they have the death penalty in that right?! i fucking hope so!

[Just Kill Me]

JFC, just kill them all.