A mother and her live-in boyfriend have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a two-year-old boy.
The child, identified as Nicholas Cruz, died in hospital Sunday. Police said he was badly beaten.
“One of the contributing causes of death that I can tell you is trauma to the abdomen,” Toronto police Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga told CTV Toronto.
“I wouldn’t even try to put myself in the shoes of the little guy, suffering extensive injuries as he has,” Idsinga said.
Hospital staff alerted police when they noticed physical trauma when the boy arrived.
Due to the severity of his injuries, it took two days for the autopsy to be conducted by medical authorities.
Mother Marleny Cruz, 25, and her boyfriend Joel France, 36, are charged with second-degree murder, police said. France has also been charged with assault.
Police said Cruz had a history of abusive boyfriends and said France was no different. France moved in with Cruz just over one month ago.
Sources told CTV Toronto that Cruz had another son prior to Nicholas, but that child was taken away by Children’s Aid.
The boy is Toronto’s 31st homicide victim of 2013.
Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call police at 416-808-7392 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Tamara Cherry
