A man who left his 5-month-old child alone in a crib for hours while he went out drinking has pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death.
Joseph Trujillo, 24, entered the plea Tuesday, said Pam Russell, a spokeswoman for the Jefferson County district attorney’s office.
Initially, Trujillo repeatedly lied to investigators about how long he left his son, Adrian, alone and where he had gone before returning to find the child dead, according to court documents. Eventually investigators determined he was gone almost seven hours.
According to court documents, Trujillo said that when he left Adrian in his bed, he had placed pillows on either side of the boy’s head to keep him from moving and propped a baby bottle filled with 6 to 8 ounces of formula on his chest.
The Jefferson County coroner’s office ruled the cause of death as “undetermined.” Trujillo will be sentenced Oct. 13.
