Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / May 2009

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/21/nm.buried.boy/index.html

(CNN) -- A 23-year-old woman suffocated her son and then buried his body
beneath the sand of a playground, police in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
said Thursday.

 Police arrested Tiffany Toribio about 4 a.m., just hours after they
said they wanted to speak to her about her missing 3-year-old son, Ty.

Family members had contacted authorities, saying her son matched the
description of a boy found Friday at an Albuquerque playground.

Police Chief Ray Schultz said she confessed to killing the boy soon
after being apprehended.

"She placed her hand over her son's mouth and nose and suffocated him.
She had second thoughts about what she did. She performed CPR on her
son, brought him back to life and then decided to go forward with that
original act she had started to commit," Schultz said.

"What makes this story especially sad is, when asked the reason why she
took Ty's life, Tiffany said that she did not want him to grow up with
no one caring about him, the same way that she had grown up where nobody
had cared about her."

An emotional Schultz added that Toribio has tried to kill herself since
her arrest. She was being held in isolation at a detention facility and
kept under observation, he said.

He added, "As you can see, this case has been very emotional for
everybody in the department."

Toribio was charged with first-degree murder and an array of other
charges, including abuse of a child under 12 that caused death.

The discovery of the body Alvarado Park on Friday shocked the community,
which dubbed the boy "Baby Justice" and "Baby Angel" as they rallied
around his case.

Police released a composite image of the boy Tuesday, hoping to garner
more leads in the case. They weren't able to release a photo of the boy
because his body was so disfigured by the sand's heat.

Schultz said that after killing her son, Toribio dug a hole under gym
equipment at the playground, moved the body and buried him in the
shallow grave.

The boy was wearing Arizona brand clothing, size 3T: nylon black running
pants with red stripes, a red shirt with a monster truck on it and
black, gray and lime green Skechers sneakers.

Toribio did not comment Thursday morning after her arrest as she was put
in a police car.