CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A 3-year-old boy, Augustine Valencia, died Tuesday after being found unresponsive at The Veranda Apartments on South Staples Street in Corpus Christi.
The child was in the care of Enrique Lopez, 21, his mother's boyfriend, while she attended a court appearance related to DWI charges involving a child.
According to a probable cause statement obtained by KRIS 6 News, an unidentified caller contacted 911 reporting that a 3-year-old child was "turning purple." When police and paramedics arrived, they found Augustine unresponsive and immediately began CPR. As medical staff transferred him to a gurney, they noticed fresh bruising on his lower abdomen.
According to that statement, Lopez told police he had been watching Augustine and his 2-year-old brother.
According to his account, he gave the children a bath and put Augustine 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.
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.
The child was pronounced dead at 2:50 p.m. Medical investigators determined the injuries were intentionally inflicted by an adult and were not self-inflicted.
Tuesday’s incident occurred while Lopez was out on a $5,000 bond for a previous assault charge.
Court documents obtained by KRIS 6 News revealed that in May, Lopez had allegedly attacked Augustine's mother twice in one day at her apartment on Treyway Circle.
In the first incident, he reportedly kicked in her door, and she responded by punching him in the nose. Seven hours later, he returned while she was sleeping, entered her room, and allegedly assaulted her with closed fists and "open hands," leaving bruises on her legs and arms.
During this incident, court records state he also reportedly caused property damage by banging his head against the wall and breaking the bedroom door.
Despite being under court order to stay away from the victim as a condition of his bond, Lopez was found caring for her children when police arrived at The Veranda Apartments.
After Augustine's death, Lopez was arrested on first-degree felony charges of injury to a child with serious bodily injury and taken to the City Detention Center before being transferred to Nueces County Jail.
As of Wednesday morning, Lopez remains in custody at the Nueces County Jail.
