Custodial dad goes out drinking, leaving 5-month-old son home alone; baby dies unattended (Jefferson County, Colorado)

Daddy JOSEPH TRUJILLO lives with his mother and his 5-month-old infant son. Where the baby's mother is isn't mentioned at all, so it appears that Daddy has custody.

Well, getting custody doesn't mean we necessarily want to take care of the baby or anything. I mean, wasn't Grandma supposed to do that? Maybe there was a failure to communicate. Anyway, it seems that Daddy went out drinking "for six or seven hours" and left the baby home alone. And when he got home, the baby was dead. Dad is charged with 1st-degree murder. A steep price to pay for partying.

But where is the mother? And who made the decision that this baby should live with the drunkard dad?

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2010/01/joseph_trujillo_mile_high_murd.php

Joseph Trujillo, Mile High Murder No. 71: Man booked on first-degree murder charge after infant dies while he was out drinking
By Michael Roberts in Mile High Murder
Thu., Jan. 21 2010 @ 12:51PM

There's not enough booze in the world to make Joseph Trujillo forget what happened this morning.

​Stories of alleged neglect don't get much more horrific than the one related by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in regard to Joseph Trujillo, 23.

Shortly after midnight, according to the JCSO, Trujillo's mother heard crying, which makes sense given that she lives with her son and his five-month-old child. Problem is, it was the adult who was making the noise. The baby was unresponsive -- and Trujillo subsequently told investigators that he left the infant "alone in the apartment for between six and seven hours while he went to a local bar and drank." He's been booked on a first-degree murder charge.

Take a deep breath, and then read the rest of the JCSO release below:

Five-month-old baby dies while left all alone
Father charged with first degree murder

Jefferson County, CO -- On January 21, 2010, at about 12:30 a.m., Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies and medical personnel responded to the16000 block of W. 10th Ave. in reference to an unresponsive five-month-old baby boy.

The baby's grandmother called 911 after waking up to the sounds of her son, Joseph Trujillo (dob 04-07-86), crying. She found Trujillo holding the unresponsive baby who was subsequently declared dead at the scene by medical personnel. Trujillo is the baby's father, and they share an apartment with the grandmother.

A team of Jefferson County investigators worked diligently through the night interviewing Trujillo, the grandmother, and numerous other witnesses. Through their work it was discovered that Trujillo had left the baby alone in the apartment for between six and seven hours while he went to a local bar and drank.

Trujillo was booked into the Jefferson County Jail where he is being held without bond on the charge of first degree murder.

An autopsy of the baby is pending to determine cause and manner of death.

Anyone with information about this crime is urged to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office tip line at 303-271-5612.