Following the tragic death of her 12-year-old son in an alligator attack, a mother has been taken into custody.
The victim, Bryan Vasquez, was discovered lifeless in a lagoon last month, with the autopsy revealing that he was killed by an alligator and drowned. Hilda Vasquez, the mother of the deceased, now faces charges of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and negligent homicide.
The search for Bryan lasted nearly two weeks after he went missing on August 14. Ultimately, his body was found near the family’s residence, adjacent to a canal in New Orleans, Louisiana. Investigations indicate that an alligator entered the family home through a window, leading to the fatal attack on Bryan.
During the search for her son, Hilda expressed her desperation to find him, stating, “I want my child. He is my life.” However, authorities uncovered that Bryan had attempted to flee on two occasions earlier in August. Questions arose regarding why Hilda had left the bedroom window open after these incidents and why she had not implemented security measures to prevent her autistic son from leaving.
In an interview with nola.com, Hilda, a mother of three, had previously mentioned that Bryan had a tendency to run away. This statement raised suspicions, leading to her subsequent arrest in connection with the tragic incident in New Orleans.
Search efforts for Bryan, conducted daily from 6am to 7pm, concluded when his lifeless body was discovered on August 26, according to authorities.
Family members, friends, and community volunteers extensively searched the neighborhood of Village De L’Est, where the Vasquez family resides. Some individuals utilized all-terrain vehicles to distribute missing person flyers in multiple languages. Hilda remained at the community’s search center established near her home.
In a separate incident, a two-year-old boy in Brazil tragically died from heatstroke after being left inside a hot car by a nursery teacher. The child, Salomao Rodrigues Faustino, was found unconscious in the vehicle, leading to his untimely demise. The nursery head, Flaviane Lima, was charged with manslaughter following the tragic event.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data at any time by clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
