Sandy Police Pursuing Child Abuse Homicide Charge Against Mother After 7-year-old Boy Dies
Feb 28, 2019, 6:22 PM | Updated: 6:35 pm
SANDY, Utah – A Sandy mother may face a child abuse homicide charge after police said her seven-year-old died Wednesday night.
The investigation began Monday.
Sergeant Jason Nielsen of the Sandy Police Department said the boy’s mother, Reyna Flores, called 911 to report her son was unresponsive.
According to a probable-cause statement, first responders found the boy in the shower.
He was not breathing and had no pulse. They said they also noticed red flags.
“They noted that he had bright red blood coming from his nose and orange-red fluid in his mouth. They noted multiple injuries and scars on NC (the boy)’s body in various stages of healing. NC had older burns on parts of his body as well as what appeared to be scars or ligature marks on his neck,” an officer wrote in the probable-cause statement.
Police said the boy was first taken to Alta View Hospital, then flown to Primary Children’s Hospital. There, police said, doctors found more injuries.
“A CT scan was performed and significant head trauma was revealed. Doctors at Primary Childrens confirmed that the injuries to the head were caused by a person in one single event. They ruled out an accident as a possible cause. They compared the damage and the bleeding on the brain to what is seen in shaken baby syndrome,” the probable-cause statement read.
Police originally arrested Flores for investigation of child abuse and child endangerment. After the boy died Wednesday evening, Sgt. Nielsen said the department would pursue a child abuse homicide charge with the district attorney’s office.
According to the probable-cause statement, a witness told police they had contacted the Utah Division of Child and Family Services before, suspecting Flores may have been abusing the boy.
A spokesperson for DCFS said they could not confirm that report due to privacy rules.
The probable-cause statement said there was also a 10-month-old in the home.
The DCFS spokesperson could not disclose the status of that baby. However, she said, in cases where a child is in extreme danger, the division places them with family members.
If there are no family members available, the division puts them in the care of the state.
According to police, Flores has no other family in Utah.
The probable-cause statement said she may have family members in California and South America.
