NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A North Las Vegas father and his girlfriend are accused by police of killing a 2-year-old boy.
Chad Newman and Haydee Razo were arrested on July 11 and face multiple charges related to the death of Newman's son.
Officers responded to a call on Feb. 5 at a trailer home in North Las Vegas that a toddler had been vomiting and was not breathing. Police say the child was transported to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
According to the arrest report, UMC staff told officers the boy had one of the worst cases of malnutrition "they've ever seen." Police say he had little to no body fat and looked like a skeleton.
Police also say the child had bruising on his head and face and possible bed bug bites covering his legs. The Clark County Coroner's Office says he died from blunt force injury to the head and "continuous neglect of care." The coroner declared the death a homicide.
The report says Newman and Razo blamed the boy's bruising on tantrums and told police he had been sick for about a week. The couple said they tried giving him Pedialyte, Pediasure and water before he became unresponsive.
While responding to the incident, police say they found methamphetamine at the trailer. The trailer is home to the couple, the victim and Razo's five children, the report says.
Police say Razo's oldest son talked to officers about the couple hitting the 2-year-old in the head with an open hand "when he is bad."
The toddler's maternal grandparents told police they were scared for his welfare and that they tried to visit him on multiple occasions but Newman would not allow it.
They also say they made several calls to CPS and police, but every time someone showed up to Newman's trailer they were told by Razo that Newman and the toddler were not home. They say they feared the was child was dead.
Newman and Razo were arrested and booked into Clark County Detention Center. They each face charges of murder, child abuse/neglect, and conspiracy to commit a non-felony crime.
