Mom watched as boyfriend beat 5-year-old to death, Texas cops say. He’s found guilty
A mother watched her boyfriend beat her 5-year-old son to death before the couple traveled from Texas to Colorado to dump his body down a ravine in 2021, Texas police said.
The boyfriend, Daniel Garcia, was convicted of murder by a jury on May 29, nearly three years since the child was killed, according to court records. The child’s mother, Nickolle Aguilar, pleaded guilty to injury to a child earlier this month, court records show.
Garcia’s attorney did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment. Aguilar’s attorney could not be reached for comment.
The abuse toward 5-year-old Domenic Aguilar-Acevedo was “extensive” in the weeks leading up to his death, Aquilar told police in 2021, McClatchy News reported.
However, police say his mother, Nickolle Aguilar, allowed it to happen because she was “too eager to be in a relationship with a man.”
On July 24, 2021, the young child was hit so hard that he “bounced off” a San Antonio hotel room wall and hit the ground, according to WOAI. He began to vomit a “black and brown liquid substance,” police said.
Hotel security camera footage later showed the couple walking out of the room carrying the child’s lifeless body, police said according to KSAT.
Hours later, the couple had made it to Colorado. The couple then fled to Costa Rica, hoping to escape authorities, according to Fox11.
While they were in Costa Rica, Aguilar’s mother visited them thinking her grandson was with them. When she arrived, she was told he got sick and was buried in a remote location in Colorado, police said according to McClatchy News.
The grandmother contacted law enforcement, McClatchy News reported. Eventually, Aguilar led police back to the place where she buried her son.
The mother told police she neglected to seek medical care for the child, McClatchy News reported.
Aguilar’s sentencing is scheduled for June 10. Garcia’s sentencing is scheduled for August 14.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 2:31 PM with the headline "Mom watched as boyfriend beat 5-year-old to death, Texas cops say. He’s found guilty."
