Man accused in child’s death arrested
San Antonio police arrested a 29-year-old man accused of physically abusing a child, leading to the 2-year-old’s death.
Mark Anthony Chavez has been charged with injury of a child by reckless omission after allegedly causing “blunt force trauma to the head” to the child in June of last year.
According to the arrest affidavit, Chavez and a witness were interviewed by San Antonio police detectives on June 23, 2023.
Chavez told police that on June 21, he was in the living room with the witness and the child. While the witness was asleep, he said the child stood up on the couch and fell backward, striking the back of her head on the windowsill.
The witness told investigators that she woke up to the child crying.
The affidavit states that the child was given a bottle and then vomited. She was then given a bath and placed in bed for the night.
On June 22, the witness, a registered nurse at Metropolitan Hospital, left for work around 6:20 a.m. She checked on the child before leaving, stating the child was asleep.
Chavez, who stayed home alone with the child throughout the day, described the 2-year-old as “fussy” during that time. Around 3 p.m. that same day, Chavez said the child hit her head again while playing with a toy, the affidavit states.
The child’s head was red as she whined and cried after the fall, he told investigators. Chavez then gave her a bottle and said she became “fussier” as she continued to cry while drinking the bottle.
Shortly after, he put the child to sleep. After waking the child up around 6 p.m., he noticed that she was “not breathing normally” and was “posturing.”
Chavez called the witness and she told him to call 911. Around 7 p.m., he called 911 and said the child was “tightening up” and not breathing normally, the affidavit states. EMS arrived and the victim was taken to University Hospital. Upon arrival, the child was unresponsive.
Further evaluation by a UT Health San Antonio Division of Child Abuse Physician showed the child’s injuries were “high impact” and likely the result of physical abuse.
A doctor conducted the child’s autopsy and determined the cause of death to be “complications following blunt force trauma to the head.” The manner of death was ruled a homicide, the affidavit states.
Nearly eight months after the incident, Chavez was booked into Bexar County jail on Friday. His bail is set at $150,000, court records show