INDIANAPOLIS -- People in a southeast-side community remembered a 2-year-old boy Sunday, who died after weeks of suspected abuse.
Police say Jose Cubas-Rivas died Nov. 1 at the hands of his father's girlfriend, Dilcia Chavez Claros. People in the neighborhood released balloons in his memory Sunday night.
Cubas-Rivas was rushed into emergency surgery in late October for a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. During the surgery, Doctors had to remove a portion of his skull to release some of the pressure on his brain. In addition to head trauma, they noted several unexplained bruises and smaller injuries covering Rivas’ body with no history of medical treatment to explain them.
Doctors called the Department of Child Services after concluding that the injuries to the child’s head were so severe that they could not have been accidental. Claros was arrested two days later in connection with his death. She has been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death. A trial is scheduled for January.
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A concerned citizen said she saw the boy out in public in September with black eyes and marks, so she called police.
"When it's right in front of your face?" Morgan Lovrovitch said. "There needs to be something done that moment. DCS should've taken him that night when they were at the house instead of waiting months. This has been going on since August and he's now passed away in November. He was never taken out of the home."
Records show a social worker called the Department of Child Services to report suspected abuse back in September as well.
DCS can't comment on what happened in Jose's case, including whether they investigated.
According to court documents obtained from the Marion County Prosecutor, Claros, 30, told doctors that the child had fallen off a bunk bed and lost consciousness while playing with her two sons.
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