AURORA — An Aurora man charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son threw the child across a room, likely slamming his head on a bed frame, and waited two hours to call 911, police said.
Theodore Madrid, 30, told police that he was drunk and high on marijuana Jan. 5 when the toddler, Caden Rodgers, was injured, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Aurora Sentinel newspaper.
Madrid was charged Monday with first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse resulting in death.
He was being held in the Arapahoe County jail without bail.
Police said Madrid told them he became angry when the boy didn’t want to wrestle with him anymore and, out of frustration, threw him.
Officers went to the couple’s apartment after Caden’s mother, Ashley Rodgers, 26, called 911 shortly after midnight. Rodgers said her son, who was being watched by Madrid while she worked, had hit his head and wouldn’t wake up, according to the affidavit.
Police said when they entered the apartment, the boy was lying on the floor and bleeding from the back of his head.
He had bruises on his forehead, officers said.
Madrid first told police that he “body slammed” Caden onto a bed but later said he picked him up and threw him, according to the affidavit. He told police he didn’t call 911 or Rodgers because he was afraid he’d get in trouble.
The boy died the day after he was injured, police said.
Tests showed that Madrid had a blood-alcohol level of 0.177 percent, well above the legal driving limit of 0.08, police said.
