ARIANIE ACEVEDO - 4 yo (2011)/ Convicted: Mother's BF; Richard Castillo - Worcester MA

Mother, boyfriend charged after Worcester child dies

Worcester, Mass.) - Police in Worcester, Massachusetts are investigating the circumstances behind the death of a four-year-old girl.

That toddler was rushed to the hospital Thursday night, where she was pronounced dead. Now, the child's mother and the mother's boyfriend are facing assault charges.

Lymari Acevedo and Richard Castillo have been charged with assault and battery upon a child causing substantial bodily injury and wantonly permitting substantial bodily injury on a child.

http://www.necn.com/02/18/11/Mother-boyfriend-charged-after-Worcester/landing_newengland.html?blockID=413629&feedID=4206

Mother, boyfriend held without bail

DEAD 4-YEAR-OLD HAD NUMEROUS INJURIES

WORCESTER —

A 27-year-old mother and her 33-year-old live-in boyfriend, who gave
police conflicting accounts of what happened to the woman's 4-year-old
child before she died with bruises all over her body yesterday, were
ordered held without bail during their arraignment in Worcester District
Court this afternoon.

Lymari Acevedo, and her boyfriend, Richard Castillo, both of 23 West
Boylston Drive, were each charged with assault and battery on a child
causing bodily injury and wantonly permitting substantial bodily injury
on a child.

Police were called to their home at 5:45 yesterday for a report of a child being unresponsive.

The child, Arianie Acevedo, was not breathing when medical workers
arrived. Emergency responders administered medical aid at the scene and
transported the child to UMass Memorial Medical Center - University
Campus. The little girl was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival at
the hospital, about 6:15 p.m.

Emergency responders as well as the hospital staff observed signs of recent and past physical abuse on
her body, according to police.

The 4-year-old girl had numerous injuries and bruises on her chest, thighs, arms, shins, feet, buttocks
and back, according to court records. The child had a bruise on her backthat appeared to be the handprint of an adult. There was dried blood around the little girl's nose, she had wet hair, urine-soaked underwear
and rigor mortis had set in, according to court records.

Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said an autopsy was being
performed today and results are expected in a couple of weeks.

Ms. Acevedo and Mr. Castillo have separate lawyers, who entered not guilty
pleas on their behalf. They asked that a reading of the charges be
waived in court.

Authorities were searching the house for evidence and conducting additional interviews today.

The couple also has a 6-month-old daughter, who is now in the custody of
the state Department of Children and Families, according to authorities.

Their cases were continued to April 4.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20110218/NEWS/110219649/0/news03

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0219couple_bruises_on_dead_child_due_to_clumsiness/srvc=home&position=also

WORCESTER
— A 27-year-old mother and her 33-year-old boyfriend — behind bars in
connection with the horrific death of her 4-year-old daughter — blamed
the bruises and injuries that covered the girl’s battered body on the
child’s “clumsiness,” authorities said yesterday.
“It’s a horrible crime and we’re doing everything we can with regards
to the investigation,” Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early told
the Herald yesterday.
Police were called to Lymari Acevedo and Richard Castillo’s apartment
around 5:45 p.m. Thursday on a report that the little girl was not
breathing, according to court documents filed in Worcester District
Court.

When the cops and EMTs arrived, the girl, identified as Arianie
Acevedo, was not responsive. She was taken by ambulance to the
University of Massachusetts Medical Center, where she was pronounced
dead.
The girl “sustained numerous injuries and bruising” all over her tiny
body — on her chest, thighs, arms, shins, feet, buttocks and back,
according to court filings. Her back bore a “clearly visible bruise” in
the shape of an adult’s handprint.
Castillo’s explanation for the bruising was that Arianie was “clumsy
and walked into walls a lot,” according to authorities. In a separate
interview, Acevedo also called her daughter “clumsy.”
When the tot was found, she was wearing urine-soaked underwear and
had dried blood around her mouth. Her hair was wet and rigor mortis had
begun to set in, court documents state.
Under questioning by authorities, the couple gave different accounts of the girl’s injuries.
Castillo told police the marks on the girl’s arm may have been caused
when he grabbed it and “threw” her on the bed after finding her not
breathing on the floor. The handprint on her back, he said, came when he
“whacked” it to try and get her breathing. Castillo blamed other
bruises on the child’s “clumsiness,” court records said.
Acevedo admitted that she sometimes grabbed her daughter’s arms and
slapped her hands or behind when she didn’t listen, court records show.
Told about the handprint on Arianie’s back, Acevedo said she may have
missed a couple times and accidentally struck the little girl,
according to court records.
Castillo also told police he knew that a doctor had raised questions about possible abuse several months ago, records state.
But when police asked Acevedo about the doctor’s suspicions, she said
it was she who had pointed out the injuries to the physician. She said
she couldn’t remember a follow-up visit to the doctor about possible
child abuse, according to authorities.
The couple pleaded not guilty yesterday and were held without bail on
charges of assault and battery on a child with substantial injury and
permitting substantial injury to a child.
Early said he is awaiting the results of an autopsy before deciding whether to upgrade the charges.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families said
it had no history with the family and is investigating the incident. The
pair’s 6-month-old daughter has been taken into DCF custody.

Man given sentence of 9 years for killing girlfriend's daughter

By Gary V. Murray, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Saturday, September 21, 2013

WORCESTER — A city man was sentenced to 9 to 9½ years in state prison Friday after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the 2011 death of his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter.

Richard Castillo, 36, formerly of 23 West Boylston Drive, had been charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 17, 2011, death of Arianie Acevedo, but pleaded guilty Friday in Worcester Superior Court to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter under an agreement with prosecutors.

Mr. Castillo also pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery on a child causing injury and reckless endangerment of a child. A charge of permitting substantial injury to a child was dismissed under the plea agreement.

Assistant District Attorney Courtney Sans told the court that police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel were dispatched to 23 West Boylston Drive about 5:40 p.m. Feb. 17, 2011, for a report of an unresponsive child.

Upon arrival, they found the 4-year-old in her bedroom not breathing. Dr. Eryyn Lynbaugh, who responded as part of his medical training, noted that the child was soaking wet and cold to the touch and that the girl's extremities showed the beginning stages of rigor mortis.

Mr. Castillo and the child's mother, Lymarie Acevedo, were the only adults in the home. The mother was crying uncontrollably, and Mr. Castillo was unable to answer when firefighters repeatedly asked how the girl came to be soaking wet, according to Ms. Sans.

The 4-year-old was taken by ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus, where she was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m.

Dr. Rebecca Moles, a child abuse pediatrician, examined the child and saw multiple areas of bruising on her body, including on her chest, lower back, buttocks, arms and flanks, according to Ms. Sans.

"Dr. Moles noted the bruises to be too numerous to count and represented more than one episode of blunt trauma to the child's body surfaces with bruising in areas not associated with active child's play or accident," the prosecutor said.

Dr. Moles described a bruise on the child's lower back and buttocks as "linear in configuration" and "patterned in appearance" and determined that it represented an inflicted injury, according to Ms. Sans. It was the doctor's opinion the remaining bruises were likely inflicted as well, the assistant district attorney said.

At autopsy, pathologist Dr. Kimberly Springer noted the contusions seen by Dr. Moles as well as fracture callouses of the ribs and a laceration to the mesentery. Mesentery refers to a supporting membrane or a membrane enclosing an internal organ.

Dr. Springer determined the cause of death to be blunt trauma of the torso with mesentery laceration and the manner of death to be homicide, according to Ms. Sans. It was Dr. Springer's opinion that the mesenteric injury was one to three days old, Ms. Sans said.

Toxicology tests also revealed the presence of an antihisamine found in over-the-counter cold and sleep medications in the child's system, according to the prosecutor.

Investigators determined the 4-year-old had been in the sole care of either her mother or Mr. Castillo, who lived with Ms. Acevedo, in the days leading to her death.

Mr. Castillo worked nights at Federal Express in Auburn and Ms. Acevedo worked days as a pharmacy technician at CVS. While each was at work, the other adult was the sole caregiver for Arianie and her 6-month-old half-sister, according to Ms. Sans.

Ms. Acevedo is under indictment on charges of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury, permitting substantial injury to a child and reckless endangerment of a child. Her case is expected to be resolved short of trial in the coming weeks, according to Ms. Sans.

If Mr. Castillo's case had gone to trial, Ms. Acevedo was expected to testify that on the night of Feb. 16, 2011, she returned home from work to find that Arianie had urinated and defecated in her bed, according to Ms. Sans. After bathing the girl and changing her clothing and bedding, Ms. Acevedo asked Mr. Castillo about a large red mark on the child's back, she said.

Mr. Castillo responded that the girl had fallen earlier in the day, but provided no further explanation, according to the prosecutor.

Ms. Sans said Ms. Acevedo brought her youngest child to a doctor's appointment the next day, again leaving Arianie in the care of Mr. Castillo. Upon her return home, she tried to feed the 4-year-old soup and yogurt, but the child was unable to eat and instead took a nap, according to Ms. Sans.

While both children were napping, Ms. Acevedo and Mr. Castillo also decided to get some sleep, the prosecutor said. Ms. Sans said Ms. Acevedo was awakened by Mr. Castillo leaving the bed to check on Arianie. A short time later, Ms. Acevedo heard Mr. Castillo yelling for her to call 911, according to the assistant district attorney.

Ms. Acevedo got up and found Mr. Castillo trying to revive Arianie in her bedroom, Ms. Sans said.

The prosecutor said Ms. Acevedo was also prepared to testify that a doctor had recommended giving Arianie Benadryl at night to help her sleep after the child suffered a leg fracture in 2009.

Photographs taken by police at the couple's apartment showed a medicine cup on the bathroom sink with a residue in it similar in color to Benadryl, according to Ms. Sans. Ms. Acevedo's testimony reportedly would have been that she did not give Arianie any Benadryl in the days preceding her death and that at no time did she strike the child, causing the injuries she suffered, according to Ms. Sans.

The prosecutor said the plea agreement in the case, which included a 3-year period of probation for Mr. Castillo, was reached after hours of discussions among the lawyers, Ms. Acevedo and her family, the child's biological father and police.

The child's grandmother, Norma Rivera, was in tears as she gave an impact statement in court.

"She was the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. She was the light of my life," Ms. Rivera told Judge James R. Lemire. Referring to Mr. Castillo, the grandmother said, "I hope that every single day of his life, he remembers her and knows what he did."

The sentences imposed by Judge Lemire were recommended by Ms. Sans and Mr. Castillo's lawyers, Peter L. Ettenberg and Greg T. Schubert.

Mr. Ettenberg told the court his client had no prior criminal record.

As conditions of probation, Mr. Castillo was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and any treatment deemed appropriate by the court, to abide by any state Department of Children and Families plans in place relative to his two children and to have no unsupervised contact with any children under age 16. Mr. Castillo was given credit for time served since his arrest on Feb. 17, 2011.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20130921/NEWS/309219855/0/newsrewind&TEMPLATE=MOBILE