Dad convicted of stomping on head of 3-week-old son; coroner still to determine if he caused boy's death (Ceres, California)

This freaking numb f*** stomped on the head of his 3-week-old son--all because he was jealous that Mom paid so much attention to a newborn? 

At the age of 3, the boy finally died, apparently from the severe abuse he suffered at his father's hands (or boot as the case may be). But the coroner has yet to rule on the matter.

Dad is identified as EVERARDO GOMEZ SR. 

http://www.modbee.com/2012/10/09/2407708/ceres-police-investigating-death.html

Tuesday, Oct. 09, 2012

Coroner yet to say if Riverbank boy's death stemmed from dad's abuse

By Erin Tracy

CERES -- Ceres police are waiting on the Stanislaus County coroner's office to determine if the death of a 3-year-old boy in July was a result of horrific abuse he suffered as an infant.

On July 9, first responders were called to St. Jude's Catholic Church for reports that the child was not breathing. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on the boy, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Modesto hospital. The boy's name is being withheld by police until the coroner's office makes a determination of his cause of death.

Based on months of investigation on the case, Ceres police Detective Derek Perry said he believes the boy died from lasting side effects of traumatic injuries he suffered at the hands of his father when he was 3 weeks old.

In February 2009, the boy's father, 31-year-old Everardo Gomez Sr., stomped on his head during a rage at their home in Santa Ana, said Ceres police Sgt. Jose Berber.

In the Orange County Superior Court trial, prosecutors argued that the father was jealous that his wife paid more attention to the baby than to him.

Gomez was convicted on a felony charge of abuse and is in prison serving an eight-year sentence.

The boy and his mother moved to Riverbank some time after Gomez was arrested.

Many medical problems 

In the weeks and years after the abuse, Berber said, the child suffered from a series of medical issues, including cerebral palsy, seizures and hydrocephalus, an abnormal collection of cerebrospinal fluid.

For the rest of his short life, he had to be fed through a tube in his stomach. He never was able to walk, and the only thing he learned to say was "mama."

The child had been seen by numerous specialists who treated his illnesses since 2009, Berber said. In the days before his death, the boy was treated at a Bay Area hospital for meningitis. While there, a metal plate inserted in his head at the time of the abuse was removed to ease side effects of seizures. The boy died two days later.

Berber said a Stanislaus County pathologist has been reviewing the child's medical records but has not determined a cause of death. The death still is classified as "suspicious," not a homicide.

Berber said the pathologist has not given detectives a timeline on when he might make this determination.

Regardless, Berber said Perry is determined to recommend murder charges be filed against Gomez. Perry has been working closely with Santa Ana police, and prosecutors in Orange County will be given the first opportunity to file on any crime related to the child's death because the original abuse occurred there.