Whisper
#byefelicia
Melissa Centeno
Sergio Ortiz
http://www.kpho.com/story/23689231/pd-heavy-handed-couple-behind-daughters-deathA Phoenix couple was booked into jail on child abuse charges in connection with the death of the mother's 4-year-old daughter, police said.
The girl's mother, Melissa Centeno, 19, told officers her live-in boyfriend, Sergio Ortiz, 22, would sometimes get "heavy-handed" when disciplining her young girl.
Centeno confessed she struck her daughter twice in the abdomen on Friday night, causing bruising, according to a court document. She said she didn't seek medical help for fear the bruising might be discovered, court paperwork stated.
Detectives also discovered Ortiz had cared for the victim while Centeno was at work on Saturday. The woman told police when she returned home, she observed bruising to the child's face that had not been there when she left
[...]
Centeno told detectives she knew her child was nauseous and vomiting since the time the girl had been struck, Holmes said. The child complained of abdominal pain, according to Holmes.
Centeno said she finally called a pediatrician Sunday morning when she saw her child was not getting any better, the court document stated. Authorities said the mother didn't act on the doctor's advice and refused to take the girl to an emergency room, court paperwork said.
The woman said she only called 911 when her daughter had stopped breathing, police said.
Police and paramedics received the call just after 11:30 a.m. Sunday and they responded
[....]
Ortiz initially told police the girl had fallen off the sofa the night before and also fell in the bathroom during bathing time, police said.
Trauma doctors at Phoenix Children's Hospital said initial testing indicated that the victim suffered from an unknown severe internal abdominal injury and bruising in the abdominal area.
The victim also had extensive bruising in other parts of her body that included areas consistent with Centeno's admissions of the couple striking the girl and causing injuries, the court document said.
Child Protective Services arrived to foster a 1-year-old child who was also at the home.
Police determined Centeno and Ortiz are the parents of the 1-year-old. The 4-year-old victim is Centeno's child from a previous relationship, said Holmes.
[...]
Holmes said it's possible the couple could face additional charges once autopsy results are in hand.