A senior airman at Nellis Air Force Base and his ex-wife have been arrested on suspicion of neglect in their 1-year-old son’s September 2017 death, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has learned.
Robert Lopez, 22, was arrested Jan. 9, while Breanna Lopez, 21, was arrested Feb. 18. Both face one felony count of child abuse or neglect, jail records show.
The Clark County coroner’s office could not determine exactly how or why
Carter Lopez, who was born prematurely, died on Sept. 12, 2017, in his father’s apartment bedroom.
According to his parents’ arrest report, three components contributed to his death: “prematurity and complications thereof, malnutrition and neglect.” Carter also had bruises on his face, in addition to scratches on his face, hands and chin, at the time of his death.
Robert Lopez could not explain why his son had bruises on his face, the report stated, but reassured police that his ex-wife was the “best mother” and was “very attentive.”
Meanwhile, after learning of her son’s death, Breanna Lopez was hospitalized “due to her mental state,” but she allowed Metropolitan Police Department detectives to search her apartment, according to the report.
It was in “complete disarray,” detectives wrote in the report, describing an apartment littered with trash, dirty diapers, dog feces and urine. Maggots also were found in the trash in the kitchen, and the apartment had a “foul odor,” according to the report.
Breanna Lopez became “defensive and argumentative” when detectives questioned her about the nearly full bottles of medicine they found inside her apartment, saying it appeared that Carter was not being given his medication, according to the report.
A year would pass before a warrant for the pair’s arrest was filed, as detectives waited for the coroner’s office to determine a cause and manner of death, according to the report.
In the meantime, detectives learned from the June report to Child Protective Services that the parents had missed at least seven of their son’s specialty medical appointments in the months prior to his death. The unidentified source expressed “grave concerns” for Carter’s safety, the report stated.
Following the report to Child Protective Services, Nellis Air Force Base officials arranged for several on-base appointments for Carter, but the parents missed at least one of those appointments with a registered nurse.
The nurse wrote in her case summary, “The parents’ lack of motivation to follow up as necessary with doctors and developmental specialist and continued failure to place their own needs aside on behalf of Carter’s best interest places Carter at plausible risk of physical harm.”
The coroner’s office closed its investigation into Carter’s death in September 2018, and detectives concluded the pair’s arrest report with the medical examiner’s findings: The boy was undernourished, having lost 12 percent of his body weight in the months leading up to his death, and had sunken eyes, green teeth and green discoloration in his abdominal area.
www.reviewjournal.com
