A Gary man has been
formally charged in connection with the death on Saturday, Oct. 4, of a
toddler in Portage.
Christopher
Shaffer, 19, was charged on Thursday with neglect of a dependent, a Level 1
felony punishable by a term of 20 to 40 years; and battery, a Level 2 felony
punishable by a term of 10 to 30 years.
According to
Portage Police, at 8:22 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, officers and EMS personnel
were dispatched to the residence at 517 Camelot Court in response to a
report of an unconscious child who was not breathing. On their arrival,
responders found a woman performing CPR on Juanzo Vargas Jr., 21 months old,
known as J.V. EMS personnel transported the boy to Porter Regional Hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy
conducted on Monday determined that J.V. sustained a subdural hemorrhage at
the back of the head, a lacerated liver, a bruised pancreas, and optic nerve
hemorrhages, “deep injuries” which forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Prahlow
stated would have taken “a great amount of force to cause,” police said.
Bruises found on
J.V.’s body indicate that the boy sustained them some two to six hours prior
to the 911 call, Prahlow also stated.
Prahlow’s
preliminary finding: J.V. died of blunt force trauma, police said.
Shaffer, who
sometimes stayed at the residence and who customarily shared a bed with J.V.
and J.V.’s 6-year-old brother, initially told investigators that he fell
asleep around 12:30 a.m. the previous night and that on waking the next
morning he found J.V. “not breathing.”
Shaffer then stated
that “‘he may have hurt (J.V.) during the night’ but claimed to be asleep
when it happened,” police said. “Shaffer stated that he has epilepsy but has
not had an episode since the end of July.”
Shaffer next gave
investigators “several different versions of events,” police said. “Shaffer
stated he had no recollection of what occurred because he was sleeping. He
later stated he was jerking around in his sleep but specifically denied a
seizure. At another point, Shaffer admitted that he punched what he thought
was a cushion but after realizing it was J.V. he simply rolled over and went
back to sleep ‘because it was too late.’ Shaffer also blamed his actions on
night terrors.”
Then, “finally,
Shaffer admitted that he was responsible for J.V.’s care,” that “he was the
only adult in the room,” and that “he was the only one with the strength to
cause the injuries,” police said.
J.V.’s mother was
not at the residence at the time of the incident, police said. J.V. was
instead being watched by his aunt and his aunt’s friend, who together live
at that address. Police described Shaffer as a friend of the family.