We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Kansas mother, boyfriend arrested for death of 2-year-old

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the death of a child and have made two arrests.

Aviles photo Sedgwick Co.

Just after 11a.m. Sunday, police responded to a residence in the 1100 Block of Munnell in Wichita where a two-year-old boy was not breathing, according to Captain Brent Allred. Despite efforts by police, fire and EMS crews, the child was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators found the child had extensive bruising all over his body. This led to the arrest of the boy’s mother Stephanie Avilas, 24, for alleged aggravated child endangerment and her boyfriend Bernardo Gonzalez-Mejia, 31, Wichita for alleged child abuse, according to Allred.

Berardo Gonzalez-Mejia photo Sedgwick Co.

The mother had called 911. She was on an errand and not home at the time and the boyfriend had contacted her about the child not breathing. Gonzalez-Mejia and the 2-year-old were home alone at the time of the incident.

An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death. That will determine if additional charges will be filed, according to Allred. He did not release the boys’s name.
Two other children in the home a 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl are in police protective custody, according to Allred.

There was one report from the Department of Children’s Familes in 2015 on the family. It did not involve abuse, according to Allred.

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File