Dec. 26 death of Kennewick toddler ruled homicide from repeated abuse

A Kennewick toddler flown to a Spokane hospital days before Christmas suffered a brain injury from lack of oxygen and had older wounds that were healing, according to court documents.

Nicholas I. Torres died Dec. 26 in Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital. His cause of death has been ruled a homicide from ongoing abuse resulting in extensive brain trauma.

No one has been charged yet with the 2-year-old’s death, and law enforcement officials have not released any details about the incident.

However, search warrant documents filed in Benton County Superior Court show Kennewick police are investigating the crime of “homicide by abuse” and have been forced to sort through conflicting reports from the boy’s parents and relatives.

Nicholas’ father is behind bars for allegedly telling another son to make up a story about events that occurred the day before his younger brother was hospitalized.

Mario Torres, 32, of Grandview — who has denied causing the injuries to Nicholas — did not want his older son talking to investigators and said he should “just make up lies,” documents said.

He has pleaded innocent to one felony count of tampering with a witness and has a Feb. 23 trial date. He’s been ordered to have no contact with that son while the case is pending.

Torres was booked into the Benton County jail early Jan. 2 after being interviewed by detectives. His bail is set at $500,000.

Torres and the toddler’s mother, Nicole Bernal, occasionally lived together in a Kennewick apartment. She initially told investigators that Nicholas had been in her exclusive care in the days leading up to his hospitalization and that he had been fine earlier that day, court documents show.

Bernal later allegedly admitted deceiving police, saying Torres had watched Nicholas while she went shopping, she returned to find the toddler lethargic and somewhat unresponsive, and that she’d lied because she “did not want to be in trouble, nor did she want her other children removed from her care.”

Documents said Nicholas had special needs, but did not disclose his disability.

An obituary published Jan. 3 in the Tri-City Herald described him as a “precious little angel” whose greatest joy was Mickey Mouse.

“When Nick entered the room he made everyone smile because he was so adorable,” the family wrote, adding that the toddler loved the outdoors, blowing bubbles, swinging and playing ball. He had three brothers and one sister.

The older brother who reportedly was asked to lie for Torres and his father’s girlfriend, Bernal, claimed “the adults didn’t like Nicholas as much as the other children and as a result injured him and physically disciplined him.” He alleged seeing his father hitting Nicholas in the past for discipline, but said Torres had never physically disciplined him or his other siblings that way.

Nicholas and the older brother were left with their father on Dec. 22.

The brother reported that Torres was putting Nicholas down for a nap when he heard “a large thud,” followed by crying from the toddler, court documents said. The boy said he had been in a nearby room. He also said he never saw his younger brother awake after hearing that sound and the cries.

When Bernal returned home, the boy said he overheard an argument between the adults. Torres told Bernal that Nicholas was walking to his room when Torres accidentally stepped on the toddler’s leg, causing him to fall hard and strike his head on the bedpost, documents said.

Investigators noted that both parents were aware Nicholas was injured on Dec. 22, but they didn’t seek medical attention until the following day when a relative got involved.

Police were called to the hospital about 5 p.m. Dec. 23. Officer Michael Rosane talked to the nursing staff and learned the boy had “reacted to pain stimulus only and was close to unconsciousness.”

His mother reportedly told staff bite marks on Nicholas were made by the toddler’s younger brother, though Rosane noted they weren’t consistent with the size of a young child’s mouth.

Rosane noticed a bruised and swollen upper lip on Nicholas, along with yellow bruising on his shin and small scabs on his inner thigh, ear and shoulder.

Rosane then talked to Bernal, who said Nicholas “has not been feeling well lately and believes he has the flu.” He slept until 10 a.m. Dec. 23, was awake for a short time, and then went back to sleep and had not woken up again, Bernal said.

Doctors couldn’t find any new internal injuries or trauma with a CT scan and didn’t know why the boy was unresponsive, so they decided to send him to Sacred Heart for further tests, documents said.

As Nicholas was in grave condition for three days at the Spokane hospital, a doctor advised Detective Jason Harrington that the toddler had suffered a brain injury from being deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time, court documents show. She said unless it had been a stroke, it most likely was a non-accidental traumatic injury such as suffocation.

The doctor also noted that Nicholas had a “still-displaced” fracture in his upper arm and there obviously had not been medical intervention or the bone would no longer appear as displaced.

A nurse wrote, “This constitutes severe medical neglect. Nicholas has been chronically, severely physically abused.”

An autopsy done Dec. 29 by Dr. John D. Howard, a Spokane County medical examiner, concluded the death was a homicide.

When the older brother was interviewed on Jan. 1, he said his father and Bernal had a private conversation with him in which they outlined what he should say to police, court documents said. He said he was told to claim that Nicholas awakened the night of Dec. 22 due to hunger and ate some chicken nuggets.

The boy became tearful and emotional when his mother and Detective Bill Dramis asked if he had concealed anything during his formal interview. He said he lied about the situation but wanted to tell the truth, documents said.

Nicholas was buried Jan. 6 at Valley Hills Funeral Home.

Torres was allowed to attend the service after Judge Bruce Spanner approved a two-hour furlough from jail. However, Torres had to be accompanied by a uniformed police officer, stay under the officer’s care the entire time of the furlough and have no contact with any other person.

This story was originally published January 9, 2015 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Dec. 26 death of Kennewick toddler ruled homicide from repeated abuse."