Foster mother who brutally beat 3-year-old boy and left him to die in 'pool of his own vomit' charged with second-degree murder
Chasity Alcosiba, 45, was charged earlier this week with second-degree murder in the death of Fabian Garcia, 3, in Hawaii after the toddler who was placed under her care was found to have been beaten to death.
The Hawaii Fire Department responded to an emergency that involved a toddler on July 25, 2017, and described that "Fabian was lying face down and lifeless beside a pool of his own vomit", reported Metro. He later passed away at the North Hawaii Community Hospital. He and his younger siblings were placed under Alcosiba’s care by the state at the time.
It was later revealed that Fabian died from the non-accidental blunt force trauma to the head. First responders noted that there was a presence of "various stages of bruising’" on his head, neck, and body. According to Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Fabian had "copious amounts of brown-color food-type vomitus in his throat."
His parents, Sherri-Ann Garett and Juben Garcia, filed a lawsuit against Alcosiba, but it is still unclear why he was placed in foster care.
According to the lawsuit, Fabian was suspected to be a victim of child abuse, as stated by emergency room personnel. In addition to the cuts and bruises, there were also subconjunctival hemorrhages in both eyes, meaning the interior blood vessels had ruptured.
Alcosiba had initially told police that Fabian's injuries were a result of a three-foot fall from a workbench. The story was later changed when he told the police he fell on the day he was found and added he was wearing virtual reality goggles.
"Fabian’s death followed months of visible injuries on Fabian and his younger siblings and numerous notifications of suspected child abuse by Fabian’s parents to defendant State of Hawaii’s social workers," the lawsuit read.
Until Alcosiba was charged, she was looking at a civil suit, however, she is now a defendant in a murder case.
"For the last two and a half years, the Garett-Garcia family has been stuck in purgatory, waiting for Fabian’s killer to be held legally accountable for Fabian’s death, the family’s attorney, Jeffrey Foster, told Hawaii News Now. "While the legal charges for the foster mother confirm the family’s worst fears, it also serves as an indictment for the foster care system on Hawaii Island."
Metro also reported that Alcosiba’s bail was originally set at $500,000, but a judge reduced it to $10,000 on Thursday.