Mom Fears Baby Homicide Case Running Cold
Lauren Moreno Died In May 2009
SAN ANTONIO -- It's been a year since 16-month-old Lauren Moreno died. And even though the toddler's death was declared a homicide, no one has been charged in her death.
Lauren's mother, Leann Moreno, remembers dropping off her daughter at her sitter's home on May 16, 2009. But on that day, the sitter attended a funeral and left her husband in charge of childcare.
"He had watched Lauren before, and the other kids that were there," Moreno said.
Around 1 p.m., Moreno got the worst news of her life.
"I called immediately asking, 'What happened? Was everything O.K.?'" Moreno said. "He said, 'No, she doesn't look good,'" Moreno recalled. Within minutes, Lauren, was taken by ambulance to Wilford Hall Medical Center. The toddler was then airlifted to University Hospital, where a series of tests determined Lauren was brain dead.
Moreno said the man in charge of Lauren that day gave her three explanations for her daughter's sudden demise.
"He was feeding her an egg. He had her in a toddler chair. His child was crying in the other room. He went to check on his child. When he came back, Lauren was on the floor," Moreno said.
According to Moreno, the man also told her he had seen an older child jumping on Lauren's back that morning and thought some of the older kids in the house may have thrown toys in the crib where she was napping, hitting her in the head.
Not knowing what to believe, Moreno anxiously awaited the autopsy report.
I was told the autopsy would tell me everything," Moreno said. "The autopsy really only told me that she died a violent death, because her injuries were blunt force trauma to the head," Moreno said.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said that sometimes a time line of when an injury occurred is difficult to determine. The Medical Examiner's Office refused to give any further explanation to KSAT 12 News because the case is still under investigation.
San Antonio Police Department officials told KSAT 12 News that the case is not cold and remains under investigation. Police spokesman Matthew Porter said there are two suspects in the case, but not enough probable cause to make any arrests at this time.
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"I feel like he's going to get away with murdering my daughter," Moreno said, referring to the man in charge of Lauren at the time.
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