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Parents Indicted on Child Abuse & Reckless Homicide Charges

By Jessie Williams

The parents of a 20-month-old child were recently indicted on child abuse and reckless homicide charges by a Macon County Grand Jury.

 

According to information provided by authorities, an incident took place in December of 2018 where a deceased 20-month-old child was taken to the Macon County Emergency Room. 

Following a request by the District Attorney’s office, an investigation was launched to determine the cause of the child’s death. It was determined he or she had overdosed on an undisclosed medication.

The parents of the child, 32-year-old Martin Deleon and 33-year-old Juanita Velasquez, were interviewed by law enforcement in October of 2019 and officers later presented their case to the grand jury.

The grand jury returned indictments for Reckless Homicide and Child Abuse & Neglect for both the mother and the father of the deceased child. 

The sealed indictment reads that the parents did “unlawfully and knowingly, other than by accidental means, treat a child 8 years of age or less, in such a manner as to inflict injury, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated 39-15-401(a), and against the peace and dignity of the State of Tennessee.”

Deleon and Velasquez were both arrested on January 9, 2020 and are being held at the Macon County Jail on $50,000 bond. 

The investigation in this case is classified as ‘ongoing.’