A barbecue benefit was held outside of Sutherland's on Sat. Feb. 22 by the family and friends of Augustine "Auggie" Valencia, the 3-year-old boy who died in a Southside apartment while in his mother's boyfriend's care.
Auggie's grandmother, Cyndi Villanueva, organized the barbeque benefit to try to raise enough money to cover the funeral expenses for her grandson Auggie. When Auggie died, he was in the care of 21-year-old Enrique Lopez, his mother's boyfriend, while she attended a court appearance related to DWI charges involving a child.
"Today we just want to bring awareness. We're not only doing this to raise funds for my grandson, but we'd also like to raise awareness for other children in these situations. We can only wish that somebody will see this and it will make them leave. Mothers don't stay. It's not worth your children's or your grandchildren's lives," Villanueva said.
Auggie was found unresponsive in an apartment in The Veranda apartment complex on the Southside on Tuesday, Feb. 11. He was then pronounced dead at the hospital a few hours later.
"This is devastating. My grandson was a beautiful soul. He was the most loving, caring child you could ever meet. He only wanted hugs, kisses, and to love on you," Villanueva said. "So, him being taken away from us like this, just doesn't make any sense."
According to Lopez, he gave Auggie and Auggie's 2-year-old brother a bath and put Auggie on the bed, while he laid on the floor. He said he discovered Augustine pale and unresponsive 20 minutes later when he went to prepare food. However, the police investigation revealed inconsistencies in his story — the bathtub appeared dry and unused, and officers discovered a clump of fresh hair in the sink.
"Not only to see my grand baby like that, but to see my child suffering over the loss of his 3-year-old child, is just devastating. We'd like to use Augustine, not as a statistic, but we'd like everybody to remember Auggie as a loving, happy child who just deserved the world," Villanueva said.
At the hospital, medical staff found Augustine had extensive injuries. These included bruising near his lower abdomen and genitalia, and a skull fracture that caused brain bleeding. This occurred while Lopez was out on a $5,000 bond for a previous assault charge.
"We are going through an injustice right now. My grandson was failed by the system. When people think of Auggie, we don't want them to think of this tragedy, we want people to think of Auggie and to bring awareness to the abuse and the domestic violence," Villanueva said.
At Saturday's barbeque benefit, Villanueva made it clear that she wants to use Auggie's tragic death to help spread awareness to others.
"These mothers stay. I don't know why they stay, but a lot of mothers are staying, at the cost of their children. And I wish that they would just see that. It's not just you suffering, your children are suffering," Villanueva said. "And if it doesn't end the way it did with my grandchild, they will go through years and years of trauma and abuse."
Meanwhile, Enrique Lopez, the man accused in Augustine's death, remains in the Nueces County Jail on a $1,012,500 bond.
"My grandchild was taken from me, and we just want to save other babies now," Villanueva said. "All you have to do is ask for help."
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