By Justin George, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, September 30, 2010
TAMPA — Police on Thursday accused a man of killing his girlfriend's toddler earlier this month.
Wilfredo Reyes, 27, of Brandon was taken into custody on suspicion of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse after Tampa police say he beat 2-year-old Yandel Martinez of Tampa, causing blunt trauma to his abdomen that led to his death.
Yandel died on the night of Sept. 6 at 4018 N Howard Ave., where Reyes initially told police that the boy had fallen down the steps and stopped breathing.
But later during the investigation, Reyes, who is the mother's boyfriend, admitted to police that the boy never fell down the stairs but that he had struck Yandel in the abdomen "too hard" while disciplining him, according to a police search warrant. Reyes told police the toddler was never quite right after that, short of breath and weak before death, the report states.
Police arrested Reyes during the investigation on a warrant for driving with a suspended license, but he was released.
The Medical Examiner's Office completed an autopsy and toxicology tests this week, determining that Yandel's death was not accidental.
Additional interviews with a witness showed that Yandel had vomited on himself after being beaten. The witness showed police a bedroom closet where Reyes put the boy after beating him as a "time out," the report states. On the walls were smears that appear to have been body fluids wiped by a small arm, according to the report.
The Tampa police Fugitive Apprehension Unit worked with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force to interview people until they re-arrested Reyes, finding him at the Claymore Crossings Apartments in the Brandon area on Thursday afternoon, where he was staying with a new girlfriend.
He remained in police custody Thursday afternoon while detectives interviewed him.
Justin George can be reached at (813) 226-3368 or jgeorge@sptimes.com.