A 2-year-old boy who was badly burned died Friday night, and police arrested his mother and her boyfriend in the investigation of first-degree murder.
Officers were called to St. Anthony Central Hospital about 11 p.m., said Sonny Jackson, Denver police spokesman.
Elijah Archuleta would have been 3 years old next month. The coroner has not yet determined a cause of death.
The mother and her boyfriend told police at the hospital that the child turned on the water and accidentally burned himself, Jackson said.
But at what police designated the “crime scene” in the 900 block of South Osage Street, detectives found evidence of child abuse, Jackson said.
Police arrested his mother, Isela Reyes-Talamantes, 23; and her boyfriend, John Vigil, 24.
Prosecutors in the Denver district attorney’s office will decide what formal charges, if any, will be filed, Jackson said.
Vigil is currently serving a 3-year deferred sentence for drug dealing in Littleton, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records. He was convicted in July.
A man who answered the door at the house on Osage Street said the family would have no comment.
The house is in a tidy, working-class neighborhood. There are toys and playground equipment in the yard.
A neighbor who didn’t want to give her name said there is a lot of activity at the house, with people frequently coming and going. Another neighbor said the occupants seemed “nice enough,” but added she didn’t know them well.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
