ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An Albuquerque mother repeatedly kicked her 9-year-old son while he was unconscious, placed him in a bath tub and waited 30 minutes before calling 911, a new report released Thursday said.
The final investigation into the December death of Omaree Varela from the Children, Youth and Families Department said Synthia Varela-Casaus admitted kicking her son into a dresser and causing him to hit his head on the floor, the Albuquerque Journal reports (https://goo.gl/RKLri8 ).
Varela-Casaus has pleaded not guilty to more than 20 charges related to the boy’s death.
The case prompted changes in the way CYFD investigates child-abuse claims after reports surfaced that Omaree Varela had previously reported instances of abuse.
According to the new report, Varela-Casaus placed the unconscious child in a bath tub with ice on his head and waited half an hour before calling 911. By the time police and paramedics arrived, Omaree was cold and unresponsive.
Like the previously released autopsy report, the CYFD narrative also states that Omaree was transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where other injures were found on his body, including “what appeared to be cigarette burns to the chest and face, bite marks on his arms and bruising above his genitals.”
According to the final report, the mother at first maintained that Omaree’s 2-year-old brother “pushed him off a tall, bouncy spring horse,” causing the child to hit his head on the tile floor and “knocking him unconscious.”
Varela-Casaus later admitted to police officers that she “kicked Omaree into a dresser, causing him to hit his head on the floor,” the report said.
The CYFD report further substantiated physical abuse of Omaree Varela by his mother and stepfather, Steve Casaus; that there was physical neglect and lack of supervision of Omaree and his two siblings by the parents; and there was medical neglect of Omaree by his mother.
Varela-Casaus, 38, was indicted in January on several charges after police said she repeatedly kicked the boy, resulting in his death.
Casaus was indicted last month and faces six counts of child abuse, two counts of bribery of a witness and one count of tampering with evidence.
Both are being held in jail and have pleaded not guilty.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, https://www.abqjournal.com
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