PUEBLO, Colo.—Investigators say an infant found dead in a Pueblo trash can died from a brain injury.
Pueblo County Coroner James Kramer said Monday that 9-month-old Iyana Perez died from a closed head injury that resulted in hemorrhaging in her brain. Kramer was still waiting for results of toxicology and other tests.
Police arrested 22-year-old Kevin Buehler on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death. He is the girl’s cousin.
It wasn’t clear whether he had a lawyer.
Authorities have not said how the girl suffered her injury but Kramer described her death as “violent”
“This is the tragic death of an innocent child, a child that should have been protected from this type of violent death,” he said.
Police say the girl’s parents aren’t suspects. The Pueblo Chieftain reported the mother had checked into drug rehab before the girl died and the father was jailed on unrelated charges at the time.
Police Sgt. Eric Bravo said the district attorney’s office will determine whether Buehler will face other charges based on the findings of the autopsy report.
Bravo said Buehler told police about putting the baby’s body in the trash but investigators are still trying to determine what happened to the baby.
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Information from: The Pueblo Chieftain,
