Affidavit: Murder suspect caring for boy, 3, while victim’s mother was at work

The 3-year-old boy who died after he was left in the care of a man while the boy’s mother was at work died as a result of “multiple blunt injuries,” a criminal complaint affidavit obtained by ABC-7 states.

On September 6, 2018, detectives with the EPPD Crimes Against Persons Unit, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, arrested 24-year-old Adrian Amaya at a home on the 11200 block of Pebble Hills.

Investigators charged Amaya with Capital Murder and booked him into the El Paso County Detention Facility under a $500,000 bond.

The investigation began the afternoon of Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at 11532 Spencer in East El Paso.

Police said Amaya called 911 to report the boy he was caring for, identified in court documents as Remmy Piria, was having trouble breathing after the boy fell earlier in the day and hit his head and ribs on a brick fireplace.

Paramedics rushed the boy to a hospital, where he died. “The victim had visible bruising on his head and on his body that were suspicious,” a police detective wrote in the affidavit.

In the autopsy report, the El Paso County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of the boy’s death as “multiple blunt injuries, including compression of the neck and paraaortic soft tissue hemorrhage.”

When detectives interviewed the boy’s mother, identified in court documents as Stephanie Hernandez, the woman showed the investigators text messages she received from Amaya. In the messages, Amaya allegedly apologized for what happened to the boy and “stated what happened to he victim was his fault,” the criminal complaint states.

The affidavit does not state the nature of the relationship between the boy’s mother and Amaya. When Amaya was interviewed by police, he told investigators he was taking care of the boy while the boy’s mother was at work.

Amaya allegedly told police the boy defecated on himself while he was being potty trained, “which required cleanup and subsequent discipline,” the document states. The affidavit does not mention how the boy was disciplined.

Further, Amaya allegedly told investigators he fed the boy and took him into a room for a nap because the boy “became cranky” after he was jumping on a couch and fell onto the brick fireplace.

After checking on the boy, Amaya realized the boy needed medical attention and called the boy’s mother and his own cousin before calling 911, the court document states. Amaya’s cousin is identified in the document as Esteban Galvez.

Police said Amaya never told investigators Galvez was at the home prior to the arrival of emergency crews. That was only discovered after a subsequent investigation.

“Multiple inconsistencies to the defendant’s timeline and version of events were noted, which further enhanced the investigator’s belief of the defendant’s involvement in the victim’s death,” the affidavit states.

Online jail records show Amaya remains jailed at the El Paso County Detention Facility.