A New Orleans mother has been arrested after her 12-year-old autistic son was found dead nearly two weeks after wandering away from home and being attacked by an alligator.
Police announced that Hilda Vasquez, 34, faces charges of negligent homicide and second-degree cruelty to juveniles in connection with the death of her son, Bryan Vasquez. She was taken into custody on Wednesday and remains held at Orleans Parish Jail Central Lockup.
“There has been a pattern of both negligence and abuse over Bryan’s 12 years, and so we believe we can prove that pattern of negligence and abuse led to a severe injury, undue pain and suffering on his part,” said NOPD Deputy Superintendent Nicholas Gernon during a Sunday press conference, NOLA reported.
Bryan, who was nonverbal, slipped out of a bedroom window on August 14. Doorbell footage captured him wearing only a nappy as he walked down the street around 5:20 a.m. Despite an extensive search involving police, wildlife agents, and volunteers, his body was not discovered until August 26. A drone located him in a canal about 200 yards from where the search had begun.
According to a report from local Fox affiliate WVUE, an autopsy confirmed he died from “blunt force trauma due to an alligator and drowning,” according to Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick. She added that it was possible his body resurfaced days after his death, which is common in drowning cases.
Police said Vasquez gave inconsistent statements about the night of Bryan’s disappearance. She told investigators she gave him a sleep aid before bed, but later found him awake in the kitchen around 3 a.m. After returning him to bed, she left the house to take another child to school, leaving Bryan and one other child unattended. She admitted she did not check on Bryan before leaving. By 10 a.m., she realized he was missing.
Investigators later revealed Bryan had run away twice in the weeks before his disappearance. On August 1, police found him naked and drinking from a drainage ditch. Three days later, a neighbor returned him home after spotting him outside again, though that incident was never reported.
Authorities also disclosed Bryan had previously been removed from the home as an infant after suffering severe injuries, including a skull fracture, broken legs, and a collapsed lung. “When he was three months old, she committed a skull fracture, broken legs, and a collapsed lung,” Gernon said. Bryan was later returned by the Louisiana Department of Children & Family Services.
The case has also raised concerns about police response. Relatives said officers took nearly five hours to respond to Vasquez’s 911 call. Chief Kirkpatrick has acknowledged the delay and ordered an internal investigation. She also requested that nuisance alligators be removed from the area, which hosts one of the nation’s largest alligator populations.