A Minnesota man has been charged with homicide after his girlfriend’s 14-month-old daughter died from “a number of head and neck accidents” whereas alone in his care, in line with on-line court docket data and native authorities.
Eric Adrian Blanco, 40, of Little Falls, Minn., was taken into custody Wednesday and charged with one depend of second-degree homicide with intent and one depend of second-degree homicide with out intent within the toddler’s loss of life. Court records appear online. Throughout his first court docket look Friday, a decide set Blanco’s bail at $1 million, in line with Morrison County Jail data.
An post-mortem carried out by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Workplace concluded that the little lady, recognized as Riverlyn Van Norman, died of “a number of head and neck accidents in keeping with a violent act of murder,” in line with an announcement from the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Workplace. . Little Falls Police Department (LFPD).
Newsweek LFPD and the Morrison County Prosecutor’s Workplace have been reached by way of e-mail Saturday for remark.
Morrison County Sheriff’s Workplace
It was not clear whether or not Blanco had employed an legal professional who may communicate on his behalf.
Van Norman and her mom, Raylene Skrotch, had been quickly residing with Blanco, Skrotch’s boyfriend, for a couple of week earlier than the lady’s loss of life, in line with LFPD.
Skrotch referred to as 911 shortly after 9:20 p.m. on July 6 and instructed the dispatcher that her toddler was “choking on his vomit and never respiratory,” in line with a possible trigger affidavit shared on-line by an area outlet. Star Tribune. When police and paramedics responded to the house on Third Avenue Northeast in Little Falls, they discovered Van Norman unresponsive and seen bruising on her face in addition to marks on her neck, LFPD officers stated in court docket paperwork.
The kid was taken to St. Gabriel’s Hospital in Little Falls, the place she was pronounced lifeless, police stated.
Skrotch instructed police that earlier than calling 911, she left her daughter in Blanco’s care whereas she took a “brief journey to a liquor retailer,” paperwork state. When she returned, the kid was not respiratory and Blanco was performing CPR on her, she stated.
When LFPD officers first arrived at Blanco’s house, Skrotch was hysterical and “screaming her daughter’s identify,” in line with court docket paperwork, which state that Blanco was seen praying intermittently “however was unemotional.”
Skrotch instructed investigators she seen bruises on Van Norman’s neck earlier that day after Blanco bathed the lady, in line with paperwork. When requested in regards to the marks on her daughter’s neck, Blanco instructed Skrotch that the little lady slipped and harm herself, court docket paperwork state.
Throughout a follow-up interview with investigators, Blanco’s explanations of how Van Norman sustained the accidents contradicted what he had beforehand reported. He instructed officers he didn’t harm the lady, in line with court docket paperwork.
In an announcement, Little Falls Police Chief Greg Shimers referred to Van Norman’s loss of life as a “heartbreaking tragedy.”
“This case has deeply impacted our neighborhood, and our ideas and condolences exit to the Riverlin household throughout this unimaginably troublesome time,” Shimers stated. “The ache and grief they really feel is shared by all the neighborhood. We might additionally like to precise our gratitude to the neighborhood for his or her persistence, understanding and help all through this lengthy and troublesome investigation.”
Blanco has a historical past of kid abuse and different violent crimes, in line with court docket paperwork shared on the location Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO).
On-line data present Blanco was convicted of felony home assault in 2017, theft of a firearm or property valued at greater than $35,000 in 2016, receiving stolen property in 2014, assault with a harmful weapon in 2014, and disorderly conduct and obstruction in 2006. and assault inflicting nice bodily hurt in 2001.
Within the 2001 case, Blanco pleaded responsible to assaulting a 1-year-old youngster who suffered a “important cranium fracture” whereas in his care, on-line data present.