Aunt of toddler killed by 20-year-old man speaks out
Enrique Lopez Gomez, 20, was charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in the death of 21-month-old Anilson Mauricio Perez Gomez. Speaking Spanish, the child’s aunt spoke to FOX 29.
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. – A Chester County man has been accused of striking a toddler and inflicting injuries that caused the child’s death, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Enrique Lopez Gomez, 20, was charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in the death of a 21-month-old boy.
Family members identified the 21-month-old boy to FOX 29 as Anilson Mauricio Perez Gomez.
The family provided a picture of 21-month-old Anilson Mauricio Perez Gomez.
Medics were called to a property on Cope Road in Kennett Square on Monday for reports of an unresponsive child, according to investigators.
They were met by the child’s mother, who had the boy wrapped in a blanket, according to investigators.
Medics soon discovered that the child had no pulse, and white foam coming from his mouth and nose.
Investigators say medics noticed bruising on the child’s body while in the ambulance. He died shortly after arriving at Nemours/A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children.
An autopsy performed by the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office later concluded that the child from blunt force trauma to the abdomen, investigators said.
“[Gomez] brutally injured a toddler under his care, failed to get the child medical care, and caused his death,” District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said.
Enrique Lopez Gomez, 20, was charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in the death of a 21-month-old boy.
Documents say Lopez-Garcia never told anyone what he did, and when the child’s mother came home from work, she brought Anilson to her sister’s home on Cope Road in Kennett Square where he eventually fell unconscious. Documents say Lopez-Garcia came to the home and performed a Guatemalan healing ritual, and then left. The child’s uncle was the one to call 911.
“I don’t know whether that’s just denial of seeing a child that appears dead and being a parent that’s immediately in mourning, or if that’s a true, deeply held belief that will somehow work,” said Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe, the Chester County District Attorney. “Mr. Gomez-Lopez struck that child in the abdomen area at least once, did not get medical care for that child and eventually the child died.”
Speaking Spanish, the child’s aunt told FOX 29, it’s a loss they cannot bear.
Anilson’s aunt tells FOX 29 that Anilson and his mom have been in Chester County less than a year, but Lopez-Gomez has been in the area for about five years. She says he seemed like a good person, took care of the baby, and had a good relationship.
“It’s a straight-forward facts scenario and unfortunately it’s just as disturbing as it is straight-forward,” said de Barrena-Sarobe.
Lopez-Gomez has an ICE detainer on top of $10 million bail. The District Attorney’s Office says they are continuing to interview witnesses, and the investigation is on-going.
