CHICAGO — Officials have determined 4-year-old Manuel Aguilar's death was a homicide.
Aguilar, of the 6400 block of South Wolcott, was found dead and wrapped in a blanket in a burning building Aug. 2. An autopsy showed he died of homicide by unspecified means and his death was the result of probable neglect, according to information from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office released Wednesday.
Aguilar was so malnourished when he was found that police initially thought they'd found the body of a 9-month-old baby, prosecutors said in August.
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Aguilar's mother, Alyssa Garcia, 27, denied her son food, locked him in a back room and slapped the toddler, prosecutors said. When the boy died on July 29, one of his older siblings took his pulse and then Garcia and her 17-year-old boyfriend bathed Aguilar, dressed him and put him in a playroom, prosecutors said.
Aguilar's body was then moved to the trunk of a car, where Garcia used air fresheners to mask the smell, prosecutors said. The couple brought Aguilar's body to an abandoned building and lit it on fire on Aug. 2, prosecutors said.
Officers arrested Garcia, her boyfriend and her boyfriend's brother, 19-year-old Christian Camarena, nearby, prosecutors said. They were charged with concealing a death and attempted arson to a residence, but they could face more charges now that the child's death has been ruled a homicide.
Garcia had five other children, all of them 10 years old or younger, Garcia's public defender said in August.
Garcia was previously convicted of endangering a child in 2012 and sentenced to 18 months probation. In that case, Garcia left three of her children alone in a car because "she was busy with her boyfriend," a prosecutor said. Neighbors found the children when the oldest child began knocking on doors.
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