Mother Starved 3-Year-Old To Death, Father Also On Trial For Child Abuse

An Arizona woman was convicted, Friday, of starving her 3-year-old son to death. The deceased’s body was found in a toy chest.

Raquel Barreras, 44, of Tuscon, was found guilty of first-degree murder and child abuse. She was arrested in March 2014, along with her husband, Martin Barreras, after their landlord found the remains of the victim, Roman Barreras – the couple’s youngest child – in a toy chest kept in the backyard of where they lived, local news outlet 247 Headline reported.

After Roman was born in 2010, he and his three older siblings were removed from the custody of his parents by the Department of Children Services (DCS) due to financial instability and drug exposure in the family. The officials told the couple that they could be reunited with the children only if they agree to follow the action plan laid out by them.

While Martin was successful in following the plan, Raquel – a self-admitted drug addict – failed to do so. Hence, after almost a year, the children were returned to Martin with the condition that he would be solely responsible for their care. Raquel eventually returned to the family’s rental home and began living with her husband and the children.

According to the prosecutors, the 3-year-old boy died somewhere between the spring of 2013 and January 2014. As the family was in the process of getting evicted in 2014 as they could no longer afford rent, the landlord decided to carry out a cleanup of the house. That was when the human remains were discovered. According to an autopsy report, the victim died of starvation and neglect.

While the other children did not appear to have any signs of abuse, except an irregular attendance record at school, the couple’s youngest son was denied even the basic necessities such as food and human interaction. The court heard that the couple did not even let well-wishers feed Roman, Fox News reported.

While the prosecutors accused Raquel of being the mastermind of the crime, the public defender painted an image of a mother struggling with drug addiction and poverty. The defending lawyer also blamed the Arizona Department of Public Safety for failing to check up on the victim after he was released from DCS’ custody.

She added that the victim might have been suffering from cancer prior to his death, which contributed to his extreme weight loss.

Raquel was scheduled to return to the court for her sentencing July 22. On the other hand, the victim’s father – against whom the charges were reduced to a single count of child abuse from first-degree murder – will begin trial in August.