EDNA FIGUEROA - 3 yo - Conyers (US 20; E of Atlanta) GA

Mother And Boyfriend Charged In Shaking Death Of 3-Year-Old


CONYERS, Ga. -- Police have arrested a mother and her boyfriend, charging the couple with in the death of a 3-year-old Conyers girl.
Edna Figueroa, 3, was brought to the Rockdale Medical Center Emergency Room by her mother Yaneth DeLaCruz Alvarez and the mother’s boyfriend, Raul Solis, on Saturday.
Figueroa was unconscious, unresponsive and having difficulty breathing when she was brought into the ER.
Doctors say the toddler suffered from extensive brain hemorrhaging. She died the next day from her injuries.
Tuesday, police arrested Alvarez and Solis in connection to the little girl’s death.
Solis was charged with murder and cruelty to children.
Police said Solis admitted to shaking the 3-year-old while she was misbehaving.
The girl’s mother, Alvarez, has been charged with cruelty to children for failing to supervise her children, which led to Figueroa’s death.

Alvarez and Solis are currently being held in jail.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/27133668/detail.html

MCALLEN - A Valley child is killed, and the mother is behind bars. The
toddler was in Child Protective care until she was turned over to her
mom about a month ago.

“I feel like the system has definitely failed Edna,” says Alene Hart with First Baptist Church in McAllen.

Edna Figueroa is described as a girl full of life. It was a life taken too
soon. A Valley child will never again set foot on a playground, never
again enjoy her friends. Those closest to her say the government is to
blame.

“She was loved by all who come in contact with her,” says Hart.

Three-year-old Edna Figueroa was killed in Georgia weeks after a court turned her over
to her natural mother. Edna's mom and boyfriend are blamed for the
little girl's death.

“Edna was a delightful little girl,” says Hart.

Hart is the preschool coordinator for First Baptist Church. She watched Edna grow.

“She wore a cowboy hat and pink boots. She was an adorable little girl,” says Hart.

The child lived in foster homes in the Valley during most of her three
years. Her mother left the state. In January, Edna’s mother, 21-year old
Yaneth Dela Cruz Alvarez, wanted her little girl back. Edna was sent to
Georgia under probationary terms. Within weeks, she was dead.

Police say the mother's boyfriend violently shook the little girl then hit her on the head.

“Most of us have families, this just pulls on your heart,” says Lt. Jackie Dunn with the Conyers Police Department.

Hart blames the system. They're the ones who turned her over to her mother.
The mom has a history of drug abuse. She's in the country illegally. The
live-in boyfriend has past convictions of human smuggling.

“They let Edna down in a big way. She had no voice for herself,” says Hart.

Edna was buried in a grave paid for by the state of Georgia.

“Edna's body was in a pine box that appeared to be upholstered with a white
material. She was wearing a little silver tiara and on the coffin they
placed two Barbie dolls in a sitting position,” says Dunn.

She died alone, no one beside her to mourn her death. Her mother was in
jail. Her father died months ago. Edna was buried by strangers.

“We thought that we were going to get a headstone for Edna. At least she
would be here for people that know her and love her and see her grave.
The next thing I knew, Edna was going to be buried in Georgia,” says
Hart.

The church Edna went to while she was here wants to hold a memorial service to honor a life cut short.

Edna's death left many asking how and why she had to die. We contacted Child
Protective Services in Georgia and Texas to find out why Edna was given
to the mother.

Texas CPS told us they performed a home
assessment. The mother tested negative for drugs. The home was deemed
safe. The court placed the children with their mother.

http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Valley-Toddler-Killed-in-Georgia/i-E6GWCxp06eRgzyGV1j2Q.cspx

Guilty plea in child abuse murder

A man charged with killing a
3-year-old by shaking her entered a guilty plea for murder Monday in
Rockdale County Superior Court.

Raul Solis, 21, pled guilty to felony murder and cruelty to children
in the first degree for the March 2011 death of Edna Figuroa, the
daughter of his girlfriend Yaneth DeLaCruz Alvarez, 22. Alvarez was
initially charged with cruelty to children in the second degree but
those charges were dropped.

Rockdale County Superior Court Judge David Irwin sentenced Solis to
life in prison, with the possibilty of parole after 30 years. Solis made
no statement and no victim impact statement was given, according to
Assistant District Attorney Debora Sullivan.

Solis's case was scheduled to go to trial next week.

Solis, Alvarez and the children lived at 1162 Oak Villas Court in
Conyers. Edna and her three brothers – 1, 5, and 6 years old at the time
– were reportedly active and noisy that rainy Saturday morning. Alvarez
was downstairs and did not check on the children during the four hour
period.

At one point, Edna woke up Solis, who had worked all night, by throwng something at him.

Solis later admitted to shaking her, said Sullivan.

Solis and Alvarez later found Edna lying in her room unresponsive.
She was taken to Rockdale Medical and then Egleston, where she was found
to have extensive hemorrhaging in the brain and difficulty breathing.
She was determined to be brain dead and taken off life support a day
later.

An autopsy concluded that she had been shaken severely and struck with something on the top of her head.

Solis previously faced charges human trafficking in Texas and social
security fraud in Newton County, but reportedly did not have a known
history of violent or felony convictions.
A man charged with killing a
3-year-old by shaking her entered a guilty plea for murder Monday in
Rockdale County Superior Court.

Raul Solis, 21, pled guilty to felony murder and cruelty to children
in the first degree for the March 2011 death of Edna Figuroa, the
daughter of his girlfriend Yaneth DeLaCruz Alvarez, 22. Alvarez was
initially charged with cruelty to children in the second degree but
those charges were dropped.

Rockdale County Superior Court Judge David Irwin sentenced Solis to
life in prison, with the possibilty of parole after 30 years. Solis made
no statement and no victim impact statement was given, according to
Assistant District Attorney Debora Sullivan.

Solis's case was scheduled to go to trial next week.

Solis, Alvarez and the children lived at 1162 Oak Villas Court in
Conyers. Edna and her three brothers – 1, 5, and 6 years old at the time
– were reportedly active and noisy that rainy Saturday morning. Alvarez
was downstairs and did not check on the children during the four hour
period.

At one point, Edna woke up Solis, who had worked all night, by throwng something at him.

Solis later admitted to shaking her, said Sullivan.

Solis and Alvarez later found Edna lying in her room unresponsive.
She was taken to Rockdale Medical and then Egleston, where she was found
to have extensive hemorrhaging in the brain and difficulty breathing.
She was determined to be brain dead and taken off life support a day
later.

An autopsy concluded that she had been shaken severely and struck with something on the top of her head.

Solis previously faced charges human trafficking in Texas and social
security fraud in Newton County, but reportedly did not have a known
history of violent or felony convictions.
http://www.rockdalenews.com/section/1/article/10383/