One-and-a-half-year-old Ares died of significant brain injuries the day before Thanksgiving. He suffered fractures to his skull, legs and shoulder area, chronic brain bleeding; and bruised cartilage in both ears, court records show.
Miranda, 27 years old, was arrested and indicted on a charge of child-abuse resulting in death a few days later
Assistant District Attorney Susan revealed that photos on Miranda’s cellphone showed the child with “thug life” written across his small stomach and “loco” on his forehead with a black Sharpie.
It’s unclear when the photos were taken or if they are connected to the injuries doctors discovered.
The autopsy report hasn’t been made public yet, and Susan said it was the most important piece of evidence that could lead to more charges.
“It’s difficult to look at something like that and think the worst about that kind of picture, especially in the context of what we know so far,” Miranda’s public defender, Stephen, stated. “I just want to caution everybody into thinking that there’s something to that evidence, when we haven’t gotten everything yet to see the whole picture, the whole story about what led to Ares’s death.”
But the prosecutors said that the pictures showed some of what the baby went through at home.
The infant was malnourished and poorly cared for, according to staff at Regional Medical Center.
Hospital staff called police to report that the toddler was possibly being abused.
A detective spotted bruises on the boy and red spots on his face at the hospital.
Miranda, who’s pregnant, denied hurting the infant and maintained that he seemed fine and didn’t have any bruises when she woke up at around 7 a.m.
She stated that they laid on a mattress in the living room around noon, and that he fell asleep, so she moved him to his crib.
When she woke up at 5 p.m., she found him unconscious and took him to the hospital, where he died two days later.
Doctors reportedly told police that the toddler had a head injury caused by shaking.
Investigators found a sippy cup with rotten milk in the infant’s crib, blood on a pillow, and marijuana pipes next to the mattress in the living room and in the bathroom.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges, and maintains that she didn’t hurt her son.
She faces up to $20,000 in fines and up to 21 years in prison if convicted.
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