TYRUS TORIBIO - 3 yo - (2009) Albuquerque NM

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Tiffany Toribio on
Monday pleaded not guilty to charges she suffocated her 3-year-old son
and buried him at an Albuquerque park. Toribio, 23, faces several charges including murder and child abuse. Investigators
suspect she suffocated Tyrus Toribio last month and buried him at the
playground at Alvarado Park, where he was soon discovered by a family
playing at the park. Toribio is jailed on a $500,000 cash-only bond.

In May, Albuquerque police found the body of Tyrus Toribio, 3, buried in Alvarado Park.His mother, Tiffany Toribio, later admitted to suffocating him and burying him in the park.In
the month since the disturbing discovery, many wondered what became of
money collected by community members in the park in the days after
Tyrus was found.Many other community members filled a jar passed
around the park, promised the money would be used to bury the then
unknown child.In one week, Rachel Lesperance and her family and friends were able to raise a lot of money."Five thousand and some," she said. "It made me feel sad I didn't want to let him go, but I had to."While the police investigation was all unfolding, Lesperance was part of a group that stayed at the park.They built a memorial by day and held vigils at night until Tiffany Toribio was behind bars.Lesperance said for that she'd received criticism."They
are calling us vultures and all they do is cry on TV," she said. "It is
horrible they shouldn't be calling us that they don't know us."At Alvarado Park, the memorial has been taken down, and the fundraising jar put away."We divided all the money between six organizations here that help women and children," Lesperance said.She claimed that's where the bulk of the $5,000 plus went.But when asked the names of the charities, Lesperance said she could not elaborate."They are local they just want to remain anonymous," she said.Lesperance said she thought the charities chosen are what Tyrus Toribio and his family would have wanted.She
also said some of the money was used to engrave a plaque in his memory,
but she is still waiting on permission from the city, to install it in
the park.

Albuquerque Police Department is stepping up its investigation into where the money from the so-called Baby Angel Fund went.Officers went door-to-door Wednesday in the Alvarado Park neighborhood looking for people who donated.In May, when 3-year-old Tyrus Toribio's body was found buried in the park, a woman collected thousands of dollars.She said she gave most of the money to numerous charities, but she won't name them.APD
said it is now hoping donors will come forward and file complaints so
investigators can thoroughly check where the cash went.