A two-year-old has died after his father allegedly threw him on a bed – causing the boy to smack his head against a wall – because he vomited.
Jayden Morales Villegas’ mother agreed to take the young boy off life support on Sunday afternoon, five days after he allegedly suffered the blow at the hands of his father, Angel Villegas, 29.
The alleged attack came just two weeks after Jayden and three of his brothers had been taken out of the care of their mother by the Department of Children and Families and given to their father.
‘Attack’: Angel Villegas, left, has been arrested for allegedly throwing his two-year-old son Jayden Morales Villegas, right, causing the boy to hit his head on a wall which left him brain dead
Villegas, a father of nine, was looking after the boy and some of his siblings at his apartment in Homstead, Florida on Tuesday when the boy, who was suffering from a cold, vomited during dinner.
He became frustrated with his son and threw him on a bed, causing the child to hit his head against a wall, police said. He found the boy unresponsive the next morning, his affidavit said.
The boy was rushed to Miami Children’s Hospital, where he was declared brain dead and put on life support. But he was pronounced dead at 1.30pm on Sunday.
‘It hurts a lot; he was just my baby,’ Jayden’s mother, Vanessa Morales told the Miami Herald. ‘I just told him to be strong, that we love him and his brothers love him and that I will never forget him.’
Villegas was arrested and his charges have now been upgraded from attempted second-degree murder to second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
Morales added to CBS Miami that she was shocked by the arrest.
‘Mad, hate and really confused because I never thought he would do something like that,’ she said. ‘Why did he take his anger out on a two-year-old, especially his son, his son.’
His Facebook page is covered with pictures of him and his children, including two other young boys and a baby girl.
Both Villegas’ and Morales’ children remain in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
Villegas is being held on $110,000 bond but if he pays that, he will be put under house arrest.
Read more: Daily Mail
I really feel for Villagas, I know he never intended to kill his son