Man arrested in Homestead after the death of a one-year-old girl
The minor spent about eight hours in a car; the defendant faces three serious charges and remains in custody without bail.
A 22-year-old man was arrested in Homestead, Florida, after the death of a one-year-old girl who remained inside a car for about eight hours. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office charges him with three felonies, including aggravated manslaughter of a minor. The detainee was taken into custody and a judge denied him bail, according to information available on the case.
The man, identified by the authorities as Keyner Roman Vázquez De León, used to take the girl from his home to a caregiver's home. He had been making that transfer from Monday to Saturday for about a year. He was not related to the minor. On Saturday, November 7, he picked her up around 6:45 a.m., but did not arrive at the nanny's home.
According to the arrest report, he first transported another person to work and then returned to his Homestead home with the girl still inside the vehicle. He turned off the engine and entered the home. Later, around 9:00, he went out to wash other cars in front of his property. The little girl was still in the car seat, without him noticing that he had not left her with her caregiver.
The mother called the man around 3:00 p.m. to ask about her daughter. At that moment, according to the police report, he realized that the minor was still in the car. He found her unconscious, still attached to the car seat, took her inside the house and called 911. Homestead police and rescue teams responded to the scene; despite attempts to revive her, the girl was pronounced dead.
The charges attributed to the detainee are aggravated involuntary manslaughter of a minor, abandonment of a child under six years of age in a vehicle resulting in injury and child neglect with serious bodily harm. The girl was treated by Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue paramedics. Authorities did not publicly identify the minor or specify the cause of her death in the information published.
After the intervention of emergency teams, the man was transferred to the county sheriff's homicide unit. Investigators indicated that his statement matched the circumstances stated in the arrest report. He remained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after appearing before a judge on Monday, November 9. The investigation was in charge of Miami-Dade homicide detectives.