Remains of baby found in ice chest identified; custodial dad admits child died under his care back in 2004 (Amarillo, Texas)

Once again, we see this interesting phenomena. Cases that identify a father in a "custody dispute" (e.g. a father in a one-way custody siege directed against the mother) or a custodial dad tend to have those details "disappear" from the media over time.

Read the most recent account about dad ROBERT NUNEZ. If you're a regular Dastardly reader, you're immediately asking yourself the following: Where's the mom? We see that the baby died under Daddy's "care" and that this death took place at "the home that little Miguel's father lived in at the time of the boy's disappearance." So how did the baby end up with Daddy, and whatever happened to the baby's mother? Babies don't birth themselves out of thin air, you know. Babies don't "naturally" end up with daddies. Human decisionmaking and actions are always behind the "placement" of a baby with the father." So you're left with a mystery.

You have to go back to last summer for clues. And yes, this did involve a father who was apparently custodial at the time of the apparent murder, but with the mother winning back custody due to Daddy's custody "interference." But that turned out to be a bit too little too late for the mom, didn't it?

http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?list=195070&id=553823

Infant's remains found in cooler identified
Posted: 12.13.2010 at 11:06 AM

AMARILLO, TEXAS -- The remains of an infant found in a cooler back in July have been identified. The University of North Texas ran the DNA test on the human remains and found that they are in fact those of Miguel Angel Nunez.

On July 19, police were called to a home in the 1600 block of N. Seminole. Officers found an ice chest in the attic containing the human remains of a small child. The home that the ice chest was found in was the home that little Miguel's father lived in at the time of the boy's disappearance.

On July 23, Special Crimes Unit detectives interviewed the father Robert Nunez. According to the official complaint Robert Nunez said his baby son Miguel died while in his care, and he placed the body in a cooler.

That statement was in a complaint of perjury against Nunez, but it does not say that he confessed to killing his son. Nunez was charged of aggravated perjury by the Potter County District Attorney's office at that time. The father is the only suspect in this case and additional charges may be presented as the investigation proceeds.

The case is still being actively investigated and anyone with information is asked to call the Special Crimes Unit at 378-9468.

http://amarillo.com/stories/072410/new_news2.shtml

Father admits hiding body
Cause of death still a mystery
Posted: Saturday, July 24, 2010
Kevin Welchkevin.welch@amarillo.com

Police now know how an infant's body ended up in an ice chest in the attic of an Amarillo home, thanks to the alleged confession of the boy's father.

Robert Sanchez Nunez, 36, told a detective Miguel Nunez died in 2004 while in his care, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday. The father also said he put the body in the attic of the home in the 1600 block of North Seminole Street, a neighborhood of tidy, modest homes in the northeast part of the city.

The father and son lived in the house at the time of Miguel's death.

The 47th District Attorney's Office has charged Robert Nunez, 36, with aggravated perjury for allegedly lying to a grand jury.

An arrest warrant recommends a bond of $100,000 for the third-degree felony.

But investigators continue working the suspicious death case.

"Robert Nunez is the only suspect in this case and additional charges may be presented as the investigation proceeds," according to an Amarillo Police Department news release.

The residents of the rental house on Seminole found a tightly sealed plastic ice chest in their attic on Monday while installing a ceiling fan. Upon starting to open the chest, a strong odor prompted them to call police.

About 1:20 p.m., police discovered the body of an unidentified boy less than 1 year old inside the chest.

Miguel Nunez's mother, Brenda Wheeler, told police the boy was about 8 months old at the time of his disappearance in April 2004, according to the complaint.

Police located Robert Nunez in Borger Wednesday night where local law enforcement agents arrested him. He faces charges there of resisting arrest and failure to identify himself as a fugitive, according to Hutchinson County Sheriff's Department records.

Potter-Randall Special Crimes Unit detectives questioned him in Borger, where he contradicted his previous testimony to a Potter County grand jury on April 21 that Miguel was still alive, according to the complaint. That resulted in the perjury charge.

The grand jury was investigating whether Robert Nunez interfered with child custody and kidnapping. The boy's mother was in the Potter County Detention Center at the time of his disappearance but later won custody of Miguel, according to Friday's complaint.

"The defendant knew at the time of his statement under oath that Miguel Nunez was deceased," according to an arrest warrant for the father.

Police believe the ice chest in which the body was found wrapped in a plastic bag had been hidden in the attic for five to six years, said Lt. Gary Trupe, head of the Special Crimes Unit.
An autopsy performed Tuesday was inconclusive.