Two California parents have been charged with murdering their four-year-old son, Noah, after the little boy heart-wrenchingly begged Child Protective Services, "Please don't send me back to them."
As if that wasn't bad enough, the little boy was described as having "horrific" injuries. So the parents tortured their little boy before ending his life.
Both Jose Cuatro, 27, and Ursula Juarez, 25, have also been accused of torturing Noah Cuatro, who they claimed had drowned in their apartment complex pool.
The pair told authorities they found their son motionless in the water at their Palmdale home on July 5. Noah died the next day in hospital.
The investigation was prompted after hospital staff alerted police of the injuries they found all over his body. His death was ruled a homicide on September 24th, despite his parents' claims of him accidentally drowning.
A post-mortem revealed that the little boy had suffered fractured vertebrae, lacerations to his liver, broken ribs, bruises all over his body, and fresh blood in his rectum
Jose and Ursula were arrested two days later, according to the Los Angeles County District Office, and charged with torture and murder.
The boys' parents appeared in court on Monday where Ursula's mum, Sylvia Juarez, praised her daughter as a "good mother to her kids; she never hurt her kids, and she never raised her voice or her hands [to them]."
But other relatives painted a different picture, saying they had looked after Noah at various stages, after he'd been taken from his parents by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), reports NBC Los Angeles.
"The criminal arrest of Noah Cuatro’s biological parents is an important step forward in this ongoing case. Since the moment I learned of Noah’s tragic death, I committed to hold all negligent parties accountable. I’ve ensured full transparency during this investigation. We’ve highlighted areas to improve and have already implemented meaningful reforms. I’m grateful to the Sheriff’s Department detectives who worked around the clock investigating Noah’s death. I’ll continue to be engaged on this case with the Sheriff and the District Attorney," Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.
"I just wish they [social workers] would have listened to him," she added, "He did say, 'please don't do this, don't send be back'."
Such a heartbreaking story. I truly don't understand how any parent could abuse or murder their children. There truly are monsters among us.
