Both parents of brain dead 2-year-old charged
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Updated: 2:31 PM Dec 8, 2008
Both parents of brain dead 2-year-old charged
St. Joseph County, IN
As we've been telling you all week, a two year-old is brain dead and charges have now been filed against both her parents. NewsCenter 16 spoke with the family's neighbors Friday night.
Posted: 3:33 PM Dec 5, 2008
Reporter: Erin Logan
Email Address: erin.logan@wndu.com
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As we've been telling you all week, a two year-old is brain dead and charges have now been filed against both her parents.

The two year-old girl's mom, 30-year-old Kristina Byers-Escobedo is charged with neglect.

A warrant is out for her arrest.

Earlier this week, the child's father, 24 year-old Valentin Escobedo was charged with neglect and battery.

He's being held on one million dollars bond and is in the United States illegally.

Authorities who've been doing police work for years say this case hit them hard considering not one, but both parents have been charged.

During the holidays, the Berlincourts love nothing more than having family time.

Across the street, at the Escobedo home it's a different story, more like what they're calling a horror story.

Misty Berlincourt says, “When I heard, I cried. That's what I did.”

Misty Berlincourt cried as she thought about an innocent two year-old's life taken.

According to the charging affidavit, the child suffered severe head trauma, and bruising all over her body.

Kent Berlincourt says, “They were very concealed, looked like a normal family on the street, but we just noticed they didn't talk as much as other people.”

The Berlincourts say they never saw any signs of abuse or neglect, but the lead investigator in this case says there was a long history of abuse. The two-year old had been in and out of the hospital and at one point was placed with other family members.

Child Protective Services and a psychiatrist later determined, Escobedo wasn't a threat to the child.

Kent Berlincourt says, “If there's that much of a history of it, somebody should have stepped in.”

St. Joe County Metro Homicide Unit says they too have been thinking non-stop about what went on at the Escobedo home.

Captain Mike Grzegorek says, “You can't blame any one unit, person, or division. The laws are written in a certain way and when people do things they're supposed to do, they're returned to that home.”

Misty Berlincourt says, “We're shocked. We can't believe it and we wish we could've done something to prevent it.”



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