FAYETTEVILLE -- Police arrested a man and woman in connection with the death of a 1-year-old boy at Foxborough Apartments, according to a news release.
Fayetteville police found the child's body inside a plastic container covered with blankets in the closet of the bedroom where the couple slept, according to the report.
Tyler Hobbs was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. He was being held at the Washington County jail in lieu of $750,000 bond. Maria Giron-Molina was arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse and was at the jail in lieu of $500,000 bond.
Hobbs called police Monday afternoon and told dispatchers the child fell down the stairs a "few days ago" and started having a seizure, according to a preliminary report.
Hobbs told dispatchers and police that after the child fell, he performed CPR and the child started breathing, but then stopped. Hobbs told police he got scared and did not know what to do and "called Monday because he wanted to turn himself in," according to the report.
Hobbs told police the child died Oct. 15.
Officers arrived about 6 p.m. Monday at Foxborough Apartments, 920 N. Leverett Ave., No. 707. They spoke with Hobbs as well as Giron-Molina, the child's mother. Both are 21 years old.
Giron-Molina said Hobbs told her the child fell at a park, according to the report.
Noting the inconsistencies in the couple's stories, investigators spoke with Hobbs again.
Hobbs then told police that before the boy died, he was crying uncontrollably and had knocked a picture frame and lamp off a bedside table. Hobbs said he was angered at the boy's refusal to calm down, so he picked the boy up and covered the child's mouth with his hand to muffle the crying. Hobbs said the child hit and scratched him, so he shook the boy, according to police.
Hobbs told police he was under the influence of marijuana and passed out, and when he woke up, the child was not breathing. Hobbs again said he performed CPR and was initially successful, but ultimately the boy died without ever receiving medical attention, he told police.
Two weeks after the child's death, Hobbs and Giron-Molina planned to give the woman's other two children to her family and then contact police.
Giron-Molina told police that she was afraid of losing custody of her children, according to the report.
Hobbs expressed remorse for his actions and said he did not intend to harm the child, according to the release.
Hobbs lives at 148 White St. in Farmington, according to Washington County records. Giron-Molina's address is listed as 593 E. Roller Ave. in Decatur, though she had leased the Fayetteville apartment where the child's body was found, according to the company that manages the apartment complex.
The child's body is being sent to the state Crime Laboratory for autopsy.
Nick Sperduto, another resident of Foxborough Apartments, sat on the steps of his apartment Tuesday afternoon as his young son played. Sperduto said the news of what happened made him evaluate what he and others can do to be a little bit safer.
He said he makes a point to say hello and get to know his neighbors, especially those who have children his son might play with, but he never really saw anyone from Apartment 707. It was almost like no one lived there, he said.
"I look at [my son] and think, 'how could someone do something like that to a little kid?' I don't understand," Sperduto said. "It's scary."
Metro on 11/01/2017