Lakewood police Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old man for investigation of first-degree murder in the death of a
Roman Paulisaiah Morales is being held without bond in the Jefferson County Detention Facility on one count of first-degree murder, according to jail records.
Just before noon Monday, police were called to a home in the 2500 block of South Sheridan Boulevard on a report of a missing 2-year-old. The caller, a member of the boy’s family, told police the toddler had been missing for about 10 minutes.
As police and family members searched the surrounding area, a “thorough search” inside the apartment took place. The boy was found inside the apartment, unconscious. He had apparently suffered some type of trauma around his neck, said Steve Davis, a Lakewood Police Department spokesman. He was rushed to a hospital, where shortly before 2 p.m. he was pronounced dead.
At the time that the emergency call was made, Morales and another man were in the house but both of them left before police arrived.
Morales was a friend of the child’s mother, Davis said.
“He spends time there and lives there from time to time,” he said.
Police later found Morales when he came to the police station willingly and began giving his story of what happened. As his account diverged from what others were saying, detectives determined that Morales was lying and was responsible, Davis said.
“In this case, his story grew farther and farther apart,” he said.
According to Jefferson County court records, Morales was in the Jefferson County jail between April 27 and Sept. 12 on a felony charge of theft of between $5,000 and $20,000.
He was released Sept. 12 after paying a $1,000 bond surety, records indicate. The case was bound over to district court without a preliminary hearing on Sept. 10.
Morales is also serving a two-year probation sentence after his Nov. 10, 2014, conviction on a misdemeanor drug charge.
Colorado has a statewide hotline — — for reporting suspected child abuse and neglect.
The hotline, staffed around the clock throughout the year, provides a resource for people to report suspected child abuse and neglect. All hotline calls are routed to the county where a child resides.
The hotline number is 1-844-CO-4-KIDS.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, kmitchell@denverpost.com or @kirkmitchell or denverpost.com/coldcases
