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Texas toddler, 2, DIES after being starved, abused, drugged and 'forced to sleep in closet' by his own parents

The immediate cause of the victim's death was extensive injury and trauma to the head though his tiny body showed signs of old and repeated injuries

WHARTON COUNTY, TEXAS: A two-year-old boy died a tragic death after being severely abused and kept without food by his parents. Daniel Escamia died in May but his fatality report was released only recently, revealing just how much the toddler suffered in the two years of his very short life. 

The parents, Rebecca Hart and Eddie Escamia, were arrested on May 16, 2022, days after Daniel breathed his last on May 9. Now, both of them have been charged and await trial. While the 21-year-old mother has been slapped with capital murder charge, 24-year-old Eddie, the father, has been charged with child endangerment with bodily injury.

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As per report, the victim died due to extensive injury and trauma to the head. Also, a child fatality report from the Department of Family and Protective Services stated that the first report against the suspects was made on March 13, 2020, soon after his birth. At the time, drugs were found inside Daniel’s system.

The physical abuse and neglect accusations against Rebecca and Eddie did not end there as a year later in April, as well as in May, they reported for abuse again. But the allegations could not be proved completely true at the time. “On April 27, 2022, the risk assessment for Daniel and his two siblings was high,” local news affiliate KTRK reported.

Two weeks after the evaluation, the child was reported unconscious on a 911 call before he was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead. Authorities reportedly asserted that the child’s body was in bad condition with distinct physical abuse and neglect marks. Also, a preliminary autopsy result indicated that Daniel had “unexplained injuries” all over his body on the day he died.

The report also stated that the signs of injuries were not of a day but they occured because of mistreatment of more than once over a span of few years. It was claimed that the boy was starved and ordered to sleep inside a closet at a mucky El Campo home, where he and his three-year-old sister, and a nine-month-old brother were living. The other two children were taken away from the parents shortly after Daniel’s death.

Caroline Roberts, who works as Associate Director of Policy and Staff Attorney, with Children at Risk criticized the law enforcement officials after the victim’s death. She also noted Child Protective Services’ lack of action but stated: “They are understaffed and underfunded and need more support. With that said, with that high priority, you would want more attention and support provided to these children. You have to be a voice for the helpless,” Roberts added.

Besides, Wharton County Sheriff Shannon Srubar said: “I would like to take a moment to pay my respects to the innocent young child in this case, for he did not deserve this. Nor did Daniel have a voice to report the horrific abuse.” Daniel’s death has attracted a lot of angry and frustrated tweets from people on the web with one saying, “That really heartbreaking such angel didn’t deserve to suffer so much pain it honestly hurts to see this article.” Another one tweeted: “CPS is a joke. They are supposed to help protect, but they're only collecting a paycheck.” “Child welfare systems are severely underfunded, its a shame.. We have all this money to throw at dumb crap, but we cannot protect our children. This has been an ongoing issue for too long, heart breaking. The 2 people in this world sworn to protect u, failed you..RIP Daniel,” the third one added.