DAKODA RANDOLPH SCOTT - 2 yo - Jacinto City (E of Houston) TX

Man charged in toddler's beating death




Jacinto City Police Department has charged a 28-year-old man in connection with the apparent beating death of a toddler, Police Chief J.M. Ayala said Thursday.

Dakota Scott, who would have celebrated his second birthday later this month, died
at 3:30 p.m. Thursday from injuries he apparently received when the suspect shook him
and threw him into a playpen, where the child hit his head,
according to a statement Ayala said the suspect gave police.

Marco Antonio Gutierrez, a former California resident described as the child's mother's boyfriend,
has been charged with three counts of injury to a child, Ayala said. Gutierrez apparently
was taking care of Dakota at his mother's home in Jacinto City when the
incident occurred. Additional charges are likely after the department
receives autopsy results in the case, Ayala said.

The suspect brought the child, who was having difficultly breathing, into a
local fire station for treatment on Wednesday, where Dakota was revived
then transported to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7432524.html

We have received a guest message (non-member) who reports that the name of the victim is spelled - Dakoda.
We will change the headline upon confirmation with another reliable source.

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Dakoda-Scott&lc=7472&pid=148777445&mid=4567433

Dakoda Randolph Scott
February 20, 2009 - February 17, 2011

My experience has been that the funeral home usually gets the name right so I am changing this.

oviedo45 wrote:http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Dakoda-Scott&lc=7472&pid=148777445&mid=4567433

Dakoda Randolph Scott
February 20, 2009 - February 17, 2011

My experience has been that the funeral home usually gets the name right so I am changing this.

---What do they know?

The bruises covering the toddler's body had allegedly come at the hands of an amateur boxer.
In flashes of rage, the 28-year-old had more than once thrown Dakoda
Scott's small frame, according to court documents. He left marks, welts
and a black eye on the 23-month-old. He had spanked the child with a
wood fork and once squeezed Dakoda, digging his fingers into his
armpits, shook the boy and then threw him sideways onto a toy.

The man, Marco Anthony Gutierrez, was dating the boy's mom, Shara Christine Scott, a
24-year-old day care worker who knew of his abuse and called no
attention to it, according to court records. She did not seek medical
help or report the problem, sometimes bringing her son to her job at a
Humble day care and overseeing him in an area where co-workers didn't
notice his injuries, said Detective Betty Silva, of the Jacinto City Police Department.
On Feb. 16, when the boy's wounds were so extreme that Gutierrez sought help, Dakoda died.
Gutierrez has since been charged with capital murder and is in Harris County
Jail. Scott was arrested Thursday and charged with injury to a child by
omission. She was released from Harris County jail on $50,000 bail.

Dakoda had bleeding in his brain and was in critical condition when he was
admitted to Texas Children's Hospital after Gutierrez flagged down
neighbor Jorge Gonzalez and asked him to take him to the fire station in Jacinto City.
Dakoda had fallen from his crib, Gutierrez told authorities upon arrival there.
His body was bruised severely, and he had experienced rectal tears. His
forehead was bumped in two places, and there was a yellowish-green
discoloration under his eyelids, resembling "raccoon eyes," according to court documents.
After her son's death, Scott told police that her boyfriend's treatment of the child was harsh.
"I think he punished him a little too hard," she said, according to a
criminal complaint filed against her in Harris County District Court.

Day care confronts family

Scott began bringing her son to the Humble day care soon after workers at a day care in The
Woodlands noticed bruises on Dakoda's body on Dec. 26. Dakoda had been
in care there before Scott got the job in Humble, Silva said.
The day care workers at The Woodlands business took photos and confronted
Scott's parents about the bruises. The parents then asked Scott about
them. She said she had spanked the child, when Gutierrez had actually
hit the boy with a wood fork, Silva said.
"She lied to her parents because she wanted to make her boyfriend look good," she said.
Gutierrez confessed to his actions in a videotaped statement, Silva said. In it, he
described in detail his treatment of Dakoda as a result of violent arguments with Scott.
"When Shara and I get mad at each other, I take it out on Dakoda," he said.
He told investigators how he had sat in a car, upset that the infant would not
stop crying, and flicked his face, thumping it by releasing his middle finger from his thumb.
Gutierrez's attorney, Terrence Gaiser, said his client has denied any wrongdoing.

CPS investigation

Texas Child Protective Services investigated the child's death and has determined
that Dakoda was likely physically and sexually abused, department
spokeswoman Estella Olguin said.
"He had injuries to his genital area, which is consistent with sexual abuse," she said.
CPS had not previously investigated Scott for treatment of Dakoda, her only child,
Olguin said. The division did contact authorities in California, where
Gutierrez has a child, to notify them that he had been arrested related to abuse.
CPS workers also believe drugs were being used around the child, which could have
contributed to frustration with the infant and his needs on the part of Scott, or her boyfriend.
Gutierrez's criminal history includes four prior misdemeanor charges, including two for drug possession.
Scott has one prior criminal charge, for burglary.
On what appears to be Scott's Facebook page, there is only one sentence
in the "about" section, referring to Gutierrez by his nickname, "Cali."
"I love my fiance cali, and liquor," the page reads.
Scott's father, Jack Scott, said he had asked his daughter about Dakoda's
injuries after the day care workers in The Woodlands confronted him in
December. She told her father she was upset about the bruises and that
it wouldn't happen again.
"I know my daughter, and she would not let anybody hurt that baby," Jack Scott
said. "She'd get upset if anyone even spanked him."
He was not sure how serious the injuries were at the time, he said.
"If your skin is real tender I guess maybe you'd get bruises," Jack Scott said.
To Silva, a grandmother and a 21-year police veteran, the sight of the child's bruised and beaten body shook her to the core.
"I've handled a lot of child abuse cases," she said. "This is the first one that brought me to tears."
Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7663533.html#ixzz1SrPZQ1kW