Modesto Mom Jovonna Cruz Charged In Death Of 7-Year-Old Son
MODESTO (CBS13) — Jovonna Cruz, the Modesto mother accused of killing her 7-year-old son earlier this month, was charged with felony child abuse causing death Monday.
On Sept. 13, Modesto police responded to a medical aid call at an apartment in the 1900 block of Oakdale Road. At the scene, David Turner was receiving life-saving treatment from EMTs and fire personnel. He was taken to the hospital and remained in a coma until Thursday when he was pronounced dead, according to the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.
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Thirty-five-year-old Jovonna Cruz, of Modesto, was initially arrested on charges of child abuse and causing great bodily injury in connection with his injuries. But after Turner died, she's now accused of child abuse causing death.
The criminal complaint, which was updated Friday, also charges Cruz and her boyfriend, Eyvar Rivera, 41, also of Modesto, with permitting a child to suffer under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death.
Read the criminal complaint here.
Cruz was arraigned in the Stanislaus Superior Court Wednesday afternoon. Her bail was set at $250,000.
Police say Turner's injuries were consistent with abuse.