VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Following a three-day trial, a Volusia County man was found guilty of murder in the death of his months-old child, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
According to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, 33-year-old Emmanuelle Vazquez was taken into custody in 2020 after the death of his son, Julius “J.J.” Vazquez, in November 2018.
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Deputies said J.J. was seven days short of turning 3 months old when authorities responded to the home following reports that the child wasn’t breathing.
First responders tried to administer CPR, and the baby was airlifted to a Daytona Beach hospital, but the boy died the following day from brain injuries and lacerations to his internal organs, the sheriff’s office reported at the time.
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According to a news release, Emmanuelle Vazquez admitted that he’d accidentally dropped J.J. on the ground head-first in the backyard, though investigators later revealed that it likely wasn’t an accident.
“Medical science tells us that the number of fractures and the trauma that J.J. suffered don’t match up with the ‘I dropped the baby on its head,’” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood had said.
Emmanuelle Vazquez was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse on Thursday, the State Attorney’s Office announced.
“It is difficult and depressing to imagine what 3-month-old Julius went through at the hands of his father,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said. “He suffered fatal head injuries and a lacerated liver as he fought for his life after the vicious beating he endured. Not surprisingly, the evidence revealed that Julius suffered previous injuries that were in the process of healing. Remember Julius in your thoughts and prayers.”
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Emmanuelle Vazquez was sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction immediately after the verdict.
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