A 2-year-old Spring girl died Thursday, Aug. 13, from injuries the Harris County Sheriff's Office says were inflicted by her mother's boyfriend over several days in early August.
The child's death means prosecutors could now upgrade the charge against Gerardo Gonzalez, 29, to capital murder. Gonzalez and the girl's mother, Jazmin Cisneros, 28, are both charged with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and remain in the Harris County Jail.
As we reported earlier Thursday, court documents revealed the toddler suffered a fractured skull, broken pelvis and lacerated liver. She was not expected to survive.
HCSO homicide detectives and the Harris County District Attorney's Office are now reviewing what charge to bring, according to KPRC. Prosecutors told a judge at Gonzalez's bond hearing Wednesday, Aug. 12, that a capital murder charge was possible if the child died.
What charging documents show
According to charging documents detailed by KHOU, Gonzalez admitted to striking the toddler in the head about four times on Saturday, Aug. 1. Investigators said those blows were consistent with the child's skull fracture.
Five days later, on Thursday, Aug. 6, Gonzalez admitted hitting the girl again in the chest, lower back and buttocks and stepping on her, according to the documents. Investigators linked those actions to her lacerated liver and broken pelvis.
Cisneros told investigators she first noticed something wrong with the toddler's right ear on Aug. 1. It appeared to sag lower than the other and was swollen. When she confronted Gonzalez, he admitted striking the child. By the next morning, the right side of the girl's face was extremely swollen and she had a black eye.
Cisneros did not seek medical care or contact law enforcement because she knew Gonzalez would go to jail, according to the charging documents.
How the child was found
On the evening of Aug. 6, around 8:20 p.m., Gonzalez woke Cisneros in a panic and said the toddler wasn't breathing. The couple drove from their home on Rendezvous Court in Spring to an Exxon station on Cypresswood Drive, about three minutes away, where Precinct 4 deputies happened to be on an unrelated call. The deputies began lifesaving measures until EMS arrived.
The girl was taken to a hospital and then airlifted to another facility with life-threatening injuries. She underwent surgery but never recovered.
Bond hearings and what's next
At Gonzalez's Aug. 10 probable cause hearing, Harris County Magistrate Judge Temple Ramming set bond at $1 million. "I've seen a lot of bad stuff the last 15 years of practicing criminal law," Judge Ramming said at the hearing. "This is one of the worst."
A judge declined to lower that bond at a Wednesday, Aug. 12, hearing.
Cisneros made her first court appearance Tuesday, Aug. 11, and is held on a $500,000 bond. She is due back in court Friday, Aug. 14.
CPS confirmed it is also investigating the case. Cisneros told investigators she had custody of the 2-year-old and a 7-year-old sibling for the summer; their father lives in Chicago.
Anyone who suspects child abuse in Texas can call the state's 24-hour hotline at 1-800-252-5400 or report online at txabusehotline.org.
