Angel Luis Villegas of Homestead, Florida was arrested this past week after he was accused of throwing his two-year-old son onto a bed, new sources report. Jayden Morales Villegas ended up hitting his head on the wall as a result of the throw; he was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon at Miami Children's Hospital. Villegas, 29, was booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail on charges of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Those charges may be elevated now that the child has died, sources report. A judge ordered that Villegas be held in lieu of $110,000 bail bond. The press did not specify an attorney for Villegas.
According to reports, the victim lived with Villegas, his stepmother, and eight siblings at an apartment on Southwest 4thStreet and 4th Avenue in Homestead. Reports did not specify the ages of the eight other children, though three of them are reportedly from a previous relationship with Vanessa Morales, Jayden's mother. It is not clear how long Morales and Villegas have been separated; sources suggest, but cannot confirm, that the couple had four children together and that Villegas has four children with his new wife.
Though Morales has a history with the DCF - her children, including Jayden, were sent to live with Villegas just two weeks before the boy's death - this is apparently Villegas's first encounter with the department. Sources claim the Department of Children and Families has taken temporary custody of at least some of the children pending the outcome of this case.
Reports say Jayden was sick for several days leading up to the incident and was unable to keep down food. On Tuesday, Jayden again threw up during a family dinner. Villegas reportedly became frustrated and took the boy to his bedroom, where he threw him on his bed. The victim reportedly hit his head on the wall when he landed on the bed.
When Villegas checked on the boy the next morning, he was unresponsive. Jayden was found to be brain dead soon afterwards; his mother decided to take him off life support at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday. "It hurts a lot, he was just my baby," Morales told the press. "I just told him to be strong. That we love him and his brothers love him and that I will never forget him."
Child abuse occurs on an almost day-to-day basis in South Florida and the rest of the United States. In May of this year, Adolfo Guzman of Miami Beach was arrested after he was accused of tying his 12-year-old son to a concrete pole for several hours, reports say. Guzman, 49, was apprehended on charges of aggravated child abuse. He later posted his $50,000 bail and was released from jail. It is unclear whether he hired legal representation.