'As disturbing as it is straightforward': Man punched girlfriend's toddler for crying, killing him, police say

Enrique Lopez Gomez (Chester County DA’s Office) and the home where the boy was found unresponsive (WCAU screenshot)

A 30-year-old man in Pennsylvania is accused of killing a 21-month-old boy in his care, allegedly getting frustrated with his girlfriend’s child crying and punching the boy in the stomach with such force that he died.

Enrique Lopez Gomez was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of third-degree murder and one count of involuntary manslaughter, among other related offenses, authorities announced.

“This Defendant brutally injured a toddler under his care, failed to get the child medical care, and caused his death. It’s difficult to fathom how someone could do this,” Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement Thursday.

According to a news release from the DA’s Office, detectives with the Chester County Detectives responded to a 911 call on June 24, 2024, at 10:58 p.m. regarding an unresponsive child at a residence in the 600 Block of Cope Road, Kennett Township, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia.

Once there, the victim’s mother came walking out of the residence carrying the little boy wrapped in a blanket and handed him over to emergency medical personnel. The victim “had white foam coming from his nose and mouth” and was without a pulse. Once in the ambulance, medics noted bruising on the child’s body and immediately alerted police.

The boy died at a hospital at 12:16 a.m. on June 25. An autopsy determined the child’s manner of death was homicide, and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the abdomen, authorities said.

“The joint investigation by the Chester County Detectives, Kennett Township Police Department, and Southern Chester County Police Department determined that the Defendant struck the child, causing the injuries that led to his death,” prosecutors said in the release.

According to a report from Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU, Gomez had been dating the victim’s mother for about six months and was considered an “unofficial” stepfather to the toddler.

In the criminal complaint, authorities said that the boy’s mother had gone to work and left her son in the care of Gomez. Gomez reportedly was trying to change the boy’s diaper but got angry when the child wouldn’t stop crying and punched him in the stomach then put him down for a nap.

When the mother came home, she merely thought the boy was sick and took him to her sister’s house. Gomez did not tell anyone he had struck the child despite the boy’s health declining for several hours, prosecutors said.

“Mr. Gomez struck that child in the abdomen at least once, causing significant injuries to that child and did not get medical care for that child,” de Barrena-Sarobe said during a news conference. “It’s a straightforward fact scenario, and unfortunately, it’s just as disturbing as it is straightforward.”

de Barrena-Sarobe noted that if Gomez had told anyone he’d hit the boy, there would have been a “significantly greater” chance of saving the toddler’s life. He also said there was no history of prior abuse.

Gomez is being held in Chester County Prison on $10 million bond.

The post ‘As disturbing as it is straightforward’: Man punched girlfriend’s toddler for crying, killing him, police say first appeared on Law & Crime .