“To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world.”
This hit me hard when I read this! What if just one person could have said something...maybe the two-year-old would be here today....
Be that one person to change the life of a child!!!!!!!
The mother of a two-year-old boy who had burns over 75 percent of his body pleaded guilty today to child abuse resulting in death in exchange for prosecutors dropping a first-degree murder charge against her.
Isela Reyes-Talamentes, 23, will be sentenced on March 19, and faces a possible maximum sentence of 32 years in prison.
The boy, Elijah Archuleta, was taken to St. Anthony's Central on Nov. 7, 2008, and was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.
Reyes-Talamentes' boyfriend, John Vigil, 22, is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in the case.
His trial date has not been scheduled.
According to court documents, the couple brought Elijah to a triage room wrapped from head to foot in blankets.
A triage nurse, Gregory Busby, asked the couple how the child was burned and Vigil said Elijah was burned a day earlier while standing in a bathtub. Vigil claimed the youngster turned on the hot water and burned himself.
Vigil claimed they brought the child to the hospital because he was choking - not because of the burns.
Busby noticed the child wasn't breathing and, while running with him, administered two "rescue breaths".
Busby then noticed the child was "ice cold" and "had no pulse."
Medical personnel spent 30 minutes trying to revive the child but were unsuccessful.
Police went to the couple's home and found Elijah's sister, four-year-old Serenity.
She told police that Vigil had burned Elijah and after doing so he started choking and died.
Serenity told investigators that her mommy was crying and upset that Elijah had died.
Reyes-Talamentes first told police that Vigil, who was serving a three-year deferred sentence for drug dealing, gave the boy a bath after he returned from a court appearance.
Later, she changed her story.
She told detectives that Vigil had picked her up from work with Elijah in the car.
She noticed that Elijah's hands and face were red. However, instead of taking the child to a hospital, she said they went to Vigil's court hearing, then went to Chipotle, and then to Wal-Mart, where they bought chips, sliced turkey and Lunchables.
After that, Vigil went and hung out with friends.
Eventually, after the Reyes-Talamentes discovered the extent of the injuries to the child, they finally took the child to a hospital.
Jan. 13th 2010 - Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_14181923?source=commented-#ixzz0cqdGSLIH
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