Albert Lea man charged with murder of 2-year-old child left in his care
ALBERT LEA, Minn. -- A 24-year-old Albert Lea man has been charged with murder in connection to the death of a young child left in his care.
Austin Michael Navarro was charged Friday with one count each of second-degree murder and child endangerment.
According to the criminal complaint, Freeborn County dispatch received a 911 call shortly before noon on Thursday from a mother reporting her child as unresponsive.
Officers were dispatched to a residence on James Avenue in Albert Lea. After on-scene emergency first aid, the unresponsive child was transported to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
A detective noted that the child have bruises along their jawline, chin, nose, forehead, eyelids and torso. An autopsy revealed the child had an "abnormal" amount of blood in the lower torso, indicating internal bleeding.
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The child's mother told investigators that she is in an intimate relationship with Navarro and the two have a child together.
She says she had gone to work for the day and left their 12-week-old baby and 2-year-old child with Navarro.
Around 10 a.m., she received a text from Navarro, stating the 2-year-old had fallen down the stairs. She asked for photos in order to evaluate the severity of the child's injuries. Navarro allegedly texted back, "I don't even wanna show u."
Over an hour later, Navarro sent a photo showing the child with severe bruising and appearing unresponsive, and texted, "Now he just acting slow," the charges state.
The mother came home from work and attempted to enter the house, but had to force the door open. She told police she saw a knife had been jammed into the door. She found Navarro upstairs locked in the bedroom with the two children. She then called 911.
The child's cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt force injuries and ruled a homicide.
When police arrived at the residence in Albert Lea, Navarro had left. An officer made a traffic stop on him about nine blocks away. Navarro allegedly admitted that he had left because he was scared.
If convicted, Navarro could face up to 40 years in prison.
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