Dad seeks justice for baby boy he never met, found dead in Tijuana lot
TULARE, Calif. -- A California man wants answers after he said his baby boy was killed in Mexico while in the care of the boy's mother and her boyfriend.
Mexican investigators tell our sister station in San Diego the decomposed body of the 7-month-old was found in a vacant Tijuana lot last week. They said the body was wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a plastic bag.
"It's not fair, what happened to my baby, it's not fair," said Joany Aguirre, who says he's the boy's father.
Aguirre lives in Tulare but is in San Diego right now, fighting to find out what happened to his child in Mexico, and bring his body back to the United States for a proper burial.
"So I'm doing whatever I can," Aguirre said. "I'm being strong for him and I do want to cry I do want to break down, but as of right now I can't because of my baby. He's looking down at me, and telling me 'No keep fighting, people need to know what's going on.'"
Aguirre believes his son died as a result of domestic violence, at the hands of his ex-girlfriend Jazmine Villalobos and her boyfriend, Luis Espinoza. Police found that couple at a house in San Diego last week. When questioned, they said they didn't kill the child, but that he died because of a medical issue, and then they disposed of his body.
Chula Vista Police escorted the couple to the border, essentially turning them over to Mexican authorities. They said the couple was living in Tijuana and that Espinoza is a Mexican citizen. Melissa Osuna said she's baby Elliot's aunt and she doesn't think their story adds up.
"So we're wondering why would you hide the body for 21 plus days and just live your life like nothing and are only sorry because she got caught," Osuna said.
Aguirre never got to meet Elliot, because he and Jazmine split up before his birth. He said she shut him out of the boy's life, so he's only seen photos of him. At only seven months old, Elliot hadn't even started crawling yet, but he knew how to smile for the camera.
"His eyes just tell it all, you know you look into his eyes and he gives you that feeling like, 'Oh, he's so adorable,'" Aguirre said. "And he has a cute laugh."
Aguirre said Jazmine is out of jail on bail but believes her boyfriend is still in the custody of Mexican authorities. As of Tuesday, no one had been charged with a crime.
"I got a lot of love and support right now and I will serve justice for my baby," Aguirre said.
