Document: Toddler suffered serious burn injuries; mother’s boyfriend charged

A two-year-old boy suffered serious burns before being pronounced dead at a hospital, a court affidavit states.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office arrested Damien Martinez, 27, and charged him with murder in connection with the death of the child.

Authorities say on Sept. 22, sheriff’s deputies responded to the 12000 block of Cuarto Aces in San Elizario, Texas, in response to an unresponsive child.

A court document states the child, a 2-year-old boy, was lying on the ground with severe burns to his body. Paramedics rushed the child to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Through the course of the investigation, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crimes Unit determined the child died as a result of actions by Martinez, a friend of the child’s mother living in her residence.

Martinez told investigators he dropped off the boy’s mother, Jessica Alvarez, at work on September 22, 2016. He returned home, where he gave the boy a shower. Martinez told investigators he left the boy alone in the shower while he walked away for about 10 seconds to grab a towel, documents state.

When he returned, Martinez noticed the boy was out of the shower. Martinez wrapped the boy in the towel and asked him what was wrong. The court document states Martinez noticed the boy’s skin peeled off when he took off the towel. Martinez told investigators the boy may have toyed with the shower faucet, spraying hot water.

According to the court document, Martinez called the boy’s mother, who allegedly told him to rub oxygenated water on the boy’s burns. When it appeared that was not working, the boy’s mother told Martinez to go to the 7-11, where he could buy “burn cream” sold at the store.

Martinez allegedly left the boy in the care the boy’s 4-year-old twin brothers while he went to the store to buy the cream. When he returned, Martinez noticed the boy was eating and drinking and appeared to be doing well.

Martinez rubbed the burn cream on the boy and noticed the boy began to have convulsions. Martinez told investigators he drove the boy to a clinic in San Elizario, where paramedics and sheriff’s deputies arrived to find the boy without signs of life.

Martinez was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $1 million bond.