COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia Police Chief W.H. ‘Skip’ Holbrook announces that investigators with the Special Victims Unit (SVU) have arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy.
Bobby Ramos Jr., 23, has been arrested and charged with Homicide by Child Abuse.
Ramos is an acquaintance of the victim’s mother. He is expected to appear in General Sessions court at a later date to officially hear the charges filed against him.
According to Richland County Coroner Gary Watts, Leo Mateo Pacheco, 3, died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head and body.
The victim was reportedly found unresponsive by his mother inside the home on Manse Street and was taken to a local hospital by EMS.
Columbia Police officers were dispatched to the hospital after medical staff pronounced the child deceased.
The victim’s 4-year-old brother was taken into emergency protective custody by CPD and the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS).
Once on Manse Street, officers also requested for CPD’s Code Enforcement officers to respond due to the condition of the home’s interior; lack of heat, hot water, and various plumbing and sanitation concerns.
Police said around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, EMS responded to a call on Manse Street, which is just off Colonial Drive. The three-year-old was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officers have been searching the toddlers home all afternoon.
"These are some of the worst types of calls that you can respond to," Columbia Police Chief Deputy Melron Kelly said. "I am a father, these are the ones that really tug at your heart strings. We want to be very methodical and very careful in how we investigate this because we really want to know what happened."
Kelly said as part of the ongoing investigation they will also be interviewing neighbors.
"Anytime you have a child that is involved we just want to make sure that we work through the situation with the corner's office, so we are going to explore all avenues as to cause of death, see if there was any existing sickness or injuries and see if after the autopsy takes place what was the exact cause of death," Kelly said. "We work with the coroner's office as part of our investigation. We are also speaking with the parents of the child to further try to determine what happened."
Additional information will be posted once it becomes available.