Man arrested after the alleged torture and death of 4-year-old boy
SAN ANTONIO (WOAI) - A man was arrested Thursday on alleged child abuse charges stemming from the torture and recent death of a four-year-old boy.
Brandon Lee Cervera, 28, was booked on Injury to a Child, a first-degree felony.
According to the arrest report, a nurse at the Children's Hospital of San Antonio called police to the emergency room on Aug. 17, 2021, after they became suspicious of the injuries sustained by 4-year-old Benjamin Cervera. The little boy was extremely thin and had multiple bruises all over his body in various stages of healing.
Benjamin passed away before police could respond, and a homicide detective was called in.
Detectives said that Benjamin was very thin and appeared to be undernourished and underweight for his age. He also only had on a disposable diaper, which detectives said was unusual for a child his age.
Cervera told investigators that the wounds on Benjamin's body were self-inflicted. Photographs and video taken from the cell phone of a relative staying in the apartment were said to have contained evidence of Benjamin "hitting himself on the head with his hands and asking for bread." An autopsy found that none of the injuries caused Benjamin's death and that many of the injuries were not self-inflicted and were signs of physical abuse, according to the police report.
After obtaining a search warrant, detectives searched the apartment and found locks on the refrigerator, kitchen cabinets, pantry door and Benjamin's bedroom door, which were meant to lock him inside the room.
More disturbing photos and videos were found on the relative's cell phone, including a photo showing both of Benjamin's eyes severely bruised and swollen, the child "shaking uncontrollably, crying, and begging for bread and water" and being denied that by Cervera and the other relative. Another video showed Benjamin forced to eat bread crumbs off the bathroom floor without the use of his hands. Benjamin was also forced to drink hand sanitizer and was seen "begging for water while crying and waving his hand in front of his mouth saying it was burning," according to the arrest report.
Photos and videos also showed Benjamin's physical deterioration leading up to his death, which was ruled that the little boy starved to death.
Cervera is being held at the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio on a $500,000 bond.
