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A Connecticut man named Edgar Ismalej-Gomez was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly killing his toddler and burying him in a local park. The victim has been identified as 2-year-old Liam Rivera. Police found the remains of the toddler inside a plastic bag.
26-year-old Edgar Ismalej-Gomez has been charged with violating parole in another case; however, murder charges are pending as of now. His bail has been set at $3 million. In 2021, he was arrested for abusing Liam when he was just eight months old.
Authorities have also accused the 26-year-old father of holding Liam’s mother at gunpoint. Police are yet to determine the exact date of the toddler’s death. Officials revealed that Liam reportedly had multiple blunt-force trauma wounds.
26-year-old Edgar Ismalej-Gomez was prohibited from seeing his son after he hurt him in July 2021
Local police officials made a gruesome discovery on Monday at Cummings Park, Stamford, when they came across a plastic bag covered in fresh dirt. The remains of 2-year-old Liam were found in the bag. The same has been confirmed by Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw in a press conference.
As per New York Post, Shaw said:
“We know there are days that are tougher than others. What the officers saw yesterday is not something they signed up for.”
The Chief Medical Examiner’s Officer mentioned that the child had multiple blunt-force trauma wounds to the head and ruled his death as a homicide.
The suspect has been identified as the victim’s 26-year-old father Edgar Ismalej-Gomez, who allegedly murdered him and dumped his remains at a local park. Law enforcement officials arrested him on Tuesday at around 1.30 am local time; however, he hasn’t been charged with murder yet.
This is not the first time Edgar has been caught hurting his child. In July 2021, he was convicted of breaking Liam’s arm. The child's parents then claimed that he had fallen and injured himself. However, doctors mentioned that the fracture was a result of someone twisting his arm. Edgar Ismalej-Gomez was sentenced to serve three years of probation and 60 days in prison.
After the 2021 incident, Gomez was prohibited from seeing his son. However, he was allegedly living with his son and the toddler’s mother for the past few weeks. Thus, Edgar Ismalej-Gomez faces charges of violating parole as well.
Apart from the alleged murder of the toddler; Gomez has also been accused of holding Liam’s mother at gunpoint. He reportedly did not let her call for help after the boy died and instead put his remains in a plastic bag.
As per FOX 61, the prosecutors said:
“What we learned is that just about a week ago, the defendant is alleged to have gone into the child's room and the child ended up deceased. The defendant would not let the mother of the child call for an ambulance. They placed the child in a bag and buried the child at Cummings Park.”
Gomez also forced the mother of his child to drive to and from West Virginia before she could alert law enforcement officials about the crime on Monday.
According to Michelle Manning, the Supervisory State’s Attorney, authorities discovered that Liam was possibly found dead after Gomez went to his room. He reportedly then restricted the child’s mother from getting medical aid for Liam.
State Child Advocate Sarah Eagan mentioned that Liam was in his mother’s custody during his death
According to court documents, Liam’s mother had custody of him before he died. State Child Advocate Sarah Eagan further added:
“Given the involvement of multiple state agencies providing services and/or supervision to the child’s parents, OCA will review the appropriateness and effectiveness of the state’s supervision and intervention.”
As per FOX 61, Prosecutors addressed the matter and said:
“The mother of the child has reported that the defendant has held her captive for the past four days. He is alleged to have carried a handgun and that she had been driven. They left the state drove down to West Virginia and came back to Connecticut which has been corroborated.”
Law enforcement officials mentioned that they arrested Edgar Ismalej-Gomez while he was on his way to New York in a cab.
Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons described the incident as “horrific” and an “unimaginable tragedy for the city.” Simmons further stated:
“As a mother of young boys, my heart is breaking, as I know all our hearts are breaking, over the tragic loss of this 2-year-old boy.”
When asked for further details about the case, Police Chief Timothy Shaw said:
“While this investigation is fluid and we may not be able to share many details, we wanted to let the community know that we are confident that there is no ongoing threat to our community.”
On Monday night, Edgar Ismalej-Gomez was asked to sign a search warrant for his residence.
In 2021, he was charged with risk of injury to a child and third-degree assault. As mentioned before, Edgar’s bail is set at $3 million. To this, Edgar’s attorney mentioned that he is not employed and cannot afford such a high amount. Edgar Ismalej-Gomez is set to make his next appearance in court on February 8, 2023.
