LAKELAND, Fla. — A family is dealing with a loss hard to understand and even harder to accept.
Lakeland police made an arrest in 23-month-old Ezekiel Cotto-Saintfleur's death Friday, March 15. They say the person responsible is his mom's boyfriend.
"The cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma in the manner of death was determined by the medical examiner to be a homicide," Lakeland Police Chief Sammy Taylor said in a press conference Monday morning.
Bobby Curry Jr., 20, is being held without bond for first-degree murder and child abuse. He made his first court appearance Saturday morning. 10 Tampa Bay's Angelina Salcedo spoke exclusively to Ezekiel's mom who says she can't believe someone would intentionally hurt her son.
"I can't believe that he was intentionally hurt. I can't believe it. This all has to be a mistake," said the 22-year-old, who didn't want to be named.
She's heartbroken over the loss of her child and says the 23-month-old was her sweet boy.
"The most beautiful baby. He was a beautiful innocent soul, a happy child. He had the most beautiful hair and skin. He was just so nice and cuddly. He was just so good," she said.
She and her boyfriend only shared the place where police responded on the 600 block of Kansas Avenue place for two weeks before Ezekiel was hurt on March 5.
"I was at work and I started getting a whole bunch of text messages saying that there was something wrong and that they didn't know what to do. I started to freak out and talk to my supervisor. She was trying to calm me down and then she she told me that the police needed to be called and that she would take me to my home," she said.
She says when she got there, Lakeland police had the road blocked and wouldn't let her see her son.
"They were still asking me some questions and then they told me I need to rush to the hospital," she said.
The 22-year-old says the baby was brought to Lakeland Regional Hospital, but didn't stay long. He was life-flighted to Tampa General Hospital, but it was only a few days before the baby passed away. Doctors pronounced him dead on March 8.
"The medical professionals estimated that Ezekiel was without oxygen for at least 45 minutes and suffered a brain bleed," Taylor said.
Taylor says the medical examiner determined Ezekiel's injuries were consistent with child abuse and didn't line up with Curry's story he had told police and his girlfriend.
"I was informed that while he stepped away for a second that dog, the puppy, kind of jumped on him a little bit and knocked him over and he hit his head on the top of the floor," the young mom said.
When asked if she faults the man now charged with her son's murder she said she just couldn't believe he would do something like that after showing love for her son.
"I don't want to blame anybody for this. Truly I want to believe that this was just an accident. I just feel so heartbroken and confused about everything. I don't, I don't know what to think at the moment," she said.
Ezekiel's family is doing all they can to pay for medical bills and try to give a proper burial after dealing with the unexpected. If you'd like to support them, you can donate to their GoFundMe here.