Dallas police arrest parents accused of hiding a dead baby boy in a cooler
Police have arrested a man and a woman accused of hiding the body of their 3-week-old son in a cooler and failing to tell anyone about the baby’s death.
Police allege that Felicia Vasquez, 32, and Arturo Espinoza, 37, concealed the body of the deceased infant inside a cooler in their motel room in South Dallas. Both parents face charges of tampering with evidence - concealing a human corpse, police said in a news release Friday.
The charge is a second-degree felony and is punishable by up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Vasquez was arrested overnight and taken to the Dallas County Jail, police said Friday morning. Espinoza was already in jail on unrelated charges and this new charge has since been added, according to police.
Bond for Vasquez on the tampering charge was set at $5,000. Total bonds for Espinoza, who is also facing a bond forfeiture, unauthorized use of a vehicle charge, are set at $17,555.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet issued a finding as to the cause and manner of the baby’s death, and police are continuing to investigate.
Police were initially called by a special investigator with Child Protective Services concerning a welfare check on the infant about 2 p.m. Dec. 28 at a motel in the 8300 block of South Lancaster Road, a news release said.
After searching the motel room, investigators found the infant inside a cooler, the release said.
Investigators said they are also awaiting a determination as to how long the infant had been dead before he was found, police said.
This story includes information from Star-Telegram archives.
