DA charges Kan. mother, boyfriend with murder in child’s death

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities investigating a mother and boyfriend in the death of a child and have filed murder charges.

Berardo Gonzalez-Mejia photo Sedgwick Co.

The case was presented Wednesday to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Bernardo Gonzalez-Mejia, 31, Wichita is now being held on charges of felony murder and child abuse and the boy’s mother Stephanie Aviles, 24, Wichita on charges of felony murder and aggravated child endangerment in the death of 2-year-old Jacob Aviles.

An autopsy completed on Jacob by the Regional Forensic Science Center led to the new charges, according to Davidson.

At approximately 11 a.m. on Sunday, officers responded to an assist fire call at a residence in the 1100 block of west Munnell, regarding Jacob not breathing.

Upon arrival, officers, firefighters and Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services staff contacted Jacob and medical treatment was performed. Jacob was pronounced dead on the scene.

Through the investigation, Jacob was found to have extensive bruising on his body.

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

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.

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.