Jun 3, 2009 3:47 pm US/Central
Babysitter's Boyfriend Charged In Toddler's Death
MARKHAM, Ill. (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
The boyfriend of a south suburban toddler's babysitter was ordered held without bond Saturday for allegedly smothering the child to death with a soiled diaper.
Juan Melenez-Reynoso, 33, of 14331 S. Division St. in Posen, was charged with first-degree murder for suffocating
Yvette Palacios, 22 months, on May 21 inside her home, which is also at the Division Street address, according to Posen Police Deputy Chief Vickie Paggi.
Melenez-Reynoso, the boyfriend of Yvette's babysitter, allegedly confessed to police that he took the child into a room in her mother's apartment and suffocated her with her own soiled diaper when she would not stop crying, Paggi said.
An autopsy on Yvette, who was pronounced dead at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey at 1:47 a.m., conducted the Sunday of her death came back inconclusive, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said. Paggi said that the little girl was not sexually assaulted or sexually abused.
During a bond hearing Saturday at the Markham courthouse, a judge ordered Melenez-Reynoso held with out bond, according to Paggi, who said the judge deemed him a flight risk because he is an illegal immigrant from Mexico.
Police determined the babysitter was not involved in Yvette's death and she will not be charged with any crimes.
The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force as well as Spanish-speaking police officers from Blue Island, Oak Forest and Chicago assisted Posen police with the investigation of Yvette's death.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was also investigating an allegation of death by abuse, spokesman Kendall Marlowe said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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