Commerce City – Cynthia Trujillo held the hands of all four of her children and was leading them out of their burning home Thursday morning, a friend said. But when she turned around, her 2-year-old boy was not with her.
Trujillo re-entered the home but had to leave when she was burned in the face by the flames, said the friend, Denise Southard.
“She kept repeating, ‘My baby! My baby!”‘ Southard said. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Investigators have not determined what caused the fire that broke out before sunrise and ripped through the split-level home at 7820 Larkwood St., in a working-class neighborhood on the east side of Commerce City.
The blaze kept rescuers from getting the child, whose body was found about 10:15 a.m.
“This is just horrible,” said Viola Hernandez, who lives next door. “A little baby died, a little baby.”
Authorities did not identify the mother or her boy, but neighbors provided her name.
Mary Anna Grigg, who attends the True Vine Tabernacle in Denver with the Trujillo family, identified the 2-year-old victim as Joseph Trujillo, also known as Jo Jo.
“We’re devastated over this,” Grigg said. “I know the Trujillos are a very loving family.”
The boy probably was in one of the bedrooms of the home, which was gutted by flames, said Sgt. Louis Dixon, Adams County Sheriff’s Department spokesman.
“Flames were going 15 to 20 feet high,” he said.
The fire was reported about 6:30 a.m. Volunteers with the South Adams County Fire Department quickly got to the scene, but the home already was fully engulfed in flames, Dixon said.
One of the children discovered the blaze and woke the mother, who tried to put it out with some water, Dixon said. The family’s father was working out of town.
Cynthia Trujillo was treated for minor burns. Her surviving children were not injured, Dixon said. A firefighter was treated for minor injuries.
Ken Prenger had just left for work about 6:30 a.m. when he saw smoke from the house and a man trying to wave motorists down to lend aid. Prenger and the man went to the back of the house, grabbed an ice bucket and broke a backdoor window in hopes of finding the 2-year-old, said Michelle Beaulieu, Prenger’s wife.
Her husband tried crawling into the home on his hands and knees, but the smoke pushed him out, Beaulieu said.
“He was pretty shook up because he knew a baby was in there,” Beaulieu said.
“He kept telling me, ‘I tried to get the baby, but I couldn’t,”‘ Beaulieu said. “I told him, ‘You are not a firefighter; you are not trained to do that.”‘
Southard said Cynthia Trujillo is a stay-at-home mother whose husband, Cleto, works in Wyoming during the week and comes home on the weekend. The children range in age from 1 to 5, Southard said.
On Wednesday night, Cynthia Trujillo told Southard she was planning on sewing skirts and was asking for sewing tips.
“She is creative and resourceful, (and) always tried to make their money go as far as she could with four small children,” Southard said.
Investigators sifted through the house all day Thursday to try to find the cause of the fire, Dixon said.
Grigg, the Trujillos’ church friend, said people can bring blankets and clothes for the family to 532 S. Canosa Court or leave contributions at Wells Fargo bank branches in the name of the Jo Jo Family Fund.
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com.
