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Wildwood Man Indicted on Murder in Beating Death of Toddler

 

By Herald Staff

COURT HOUSE– Damian Garcia, 32, of Wildwood was indicted Tuesday, Oct 20, on a murder charge in the April 22 death of two-year-old Caden Rivera, the Atlantic City Press reports.
According to State Police, Rivera suffered blunt-force trauma to the abdomen while in the care of Garcia. Garcia was watching the toddler while his mother Jennifer Bowen went to get Pedialyte. When Bowen returned to her Woodbine apartment she found the boy unconscious.
Bowen however, did not call 9-1-1 at that point instead decided to drive the lifeless two-year-old to Cape Regional Medical Center over ten miles away where doctors unsuccessfully tried to revive him for thirty minutes, according to State Police.
Garcia was later arrested and charged with beating the boy to death.
Juan Rivera Perez, the father of Caden Rivera has since filed suit against the State of New Jersey, The Department of Children and Families and Cape May County according to a press release sent by his attorney Mati Jarve.
Perez says he contacted DYFS on March 19, 2009 to report abuse and says the state failed to protect his two-year-old son.
The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages

Spout Off

Stone Harbor – Could the North Wildwood spouter tell us what kind of company he refers to that has already gotten tariff increases. Waiting for the reply spout!

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