The mother of a nonverbal 12-year-old boy who died after an alligator attack more than a week after he disappeared from his New Orleans home has been arrested.
Hilda Vasquez, the mother of Bryan Vasquez, was arrested Sunday evening on charges of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and negligent homicide, New Orleans police said at a news conference.
Authorities said Vasquez was charged with cruelty to a juvenile because it was not the first time Bryan had been “the victim of any sort of trauma.”
She was previously arrested and convicted after Bryan, then 3 months old, sustained a skull fracture, broken legs and a collapsed lung, authorities said. He was removed from the family’s home but later returned to Vasquez’s care.
An attorney for Vasquez did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Police Deputy Supt. Nicholas Gernon said investigators also learned that Bryan escaped from his home at least twice in the two weeks before he disappeared on Aug. 14.
Gernon told NBC affiliate WDSU of New Orleans that the mother was alleged not to have taken steps to make sure Bryan could not get out of the house and did not check on him throughout the night.
“It was not this tragic event that occurred in August that led to these charges. It was a pattern of abuse and neglect that occurred throughout his entire 12 years of life,” Gernon said.
Gernon said it Bryan’s younger sister discovered him missing on Aug. 14. His family previously told WDSU that he left through his bedroom window around 5 a.m. Security video obtained by the station showed him less than an hour later walking around in an adult diaper.
His body was discovered Aug. 26 in a lagoon in the city’s Michoud neighborhood. Police believe he drowned after having suffered blunt force trauma from an alligator.
Assistant Supt. Hans Ganthier said the investigation continues.
“Our detectives continue to pursue every fact and every aspect of any investigative leads,” he said at the news conference. “Out of respect for the ongoing process, a lot of the details cannot be released.”
Minyvonne Burke
Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.