"We care for all of our citizens that live here, and residents of our county, but when it's a little one, such an innocence lost, it's very devastating, and we want to do everything we can to do what we can to help that child," said Captain Larry Micari, Tulare County Sheriff's Office.
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Micari said deputies were dispatched to a home near Avenue 72 and Road 248 late Saturday night for a report of an unresponsive child. The area is located south of Terra Bella.
"When our deputies arrived, they found the child unresponsive, and they gave him CPR in attempting to revive him," said Micari.
Deputies, as well as medical professionals, tried to save the boy, but he was declared dead at the scene.
Micari said several other people were at the home at the time, including the mother.
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"There were some things that looked unusual, so our coroner unit was called out and responded and our violent crimes unit eventually responded as well."
An autopsy took place Tuesday, and revealed the boy died of blunt force trauma.
Investigators said the evidence shows Rodriguez is responsible for his death and said that this is Tulare County's ninth homicide of 2017.