Fort Worth man gets 30 years in toddler’s death

A man who pleaded guilty to murder Monday in the death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Erik Delarosa, 25, was accused of striking Anthony Segura with an object or hitting him against a surface, causing blunt-force trauma to his abdomen that resulted in the child’s death, according to the Tarrant County grand jury indictment.

Murder is a first-degree felony punishable by five years to life in prison. Delarosa’s attorney, Barry Johnson, declined to comment on the 30-year sentence, other than to say a plea arrangement was reached.

Authorities said Anthony was found beaten to death Feb. 1 in the living room of an apartment in the 5900 block of Whittlesey Road. Delarosa was baby-sitting and called paramedics.

He was arrested that day on an unrelated criminal mischief warrant.

According to CPS records, officials investigated Anthony’s biological parents four times beginning June 4, 2010. Anthony was a focus of three of those investigations. One inquiry stemmed from complaints of neglectful supervision and physical abuse of two children before the boy was born.

Records say the parents completed a drug program to resolve the case.

A second investigation began when Anthony tested positive for an unspecified drug after he was born in September 2011, according to CPS records. The complaint alleged neglectful supervision and physical abuse. The mother attended another drug program to resolve the case, records say.

A third CPS investigation stemmed from a report of domestic violence between the biological parents. When it was determined that the incident did not occur in front of the children, abuse was ruled out, a CPS official said.

In 2013, the parents stopped living together, and the mother and her children moved to Whittlesey Road with Delarosa.

After Anthony’s death, CPS officials placed his 3-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister in foster care.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published January 27, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Fort Worth man gets 30 years in toddler’s death."