Roman Barreras

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CPS was in and out of three year old Roman's life from the time he was born until about a year before his remains were found. In July of 2010 Roman was taken into CPS custody immediately after he was born. The CPS report stated that Roman was having "Jitterness from methadone withdrawal, a shrill cry and no sleeping after feedings." In July of 2010, Roman's father, Martin was named for "neglect." It was documented as a Priority risk, the highest level of danger. Yet Roman was left in his care.

 

Again two months later, in September of 2010, Roman was flagged for "suspected child sex abuse." "Continued sexual abuse was an immediate concern." Still Roman was not removed from the home. In September of 2010, a frightening forewarning the report states, "the father appears to be easily manipulated by the mother and is unable to be objective about the threat that the mother poses to the children." It goes on to say, "the father is absent from the home for long periods of time due to his work and is not available by telephone."

Then, in May of 2013, CPS decided to closed its case “even though the home's water was turned off and there was a concern noted that the mother might have been in the home and Roman seemed very thin." Daycare was offered, but Roman’s father declined the offer. After CPS closed its case, there was one more call to the hotline. In January of 2014, an anonymous caller was concerned because Roman hadn't been seen for "several months to a year." CPS marked that call as a "communication" and didn't make any effort to investigate. Two months later, Roman’s decomposed remains were found in the backyard of a south side rental property hidden in a toy chest.

 

The medical Examiner says by all indications the cause of death was, likely, starvation and neglect. Some bones were actually missing. Other bones were in the process of healing and there were signs of possible infection. The report says, Roman’s body was the length of a one and a half to two year old child but if, in fact, he was starved to death that would stunt his growth. That means the time of death could not be determined.

 

http://tucson.com/news/local/column/steller-we-re-all-about-roman-barreras-now-that-he/article_1affcc21-6d8a-5dca-b4b7-8211a6fda18f.html

 

Age: 3 Years

Location: Tucson, Arizona

Suspect in death: Raquel and Martin Barreras, Parents