12-year-old boy killed by alligator had brain injury from his mother, not autism: report

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Bryan Vasquez (New Orleans Police Department)

The 12-year-old boy who was killed by an alligator after escaping his bedroom window in New Orleans had a traumatic brain injury from his mother, not autism, according to reports. 

Bryan Vasquez, who is nonverbal, was first reported missing the morning of Aug. 14 after reportedly escaping through his bedroom window. Police didn’t respond to the missing child call until five hours after it was reported. 

His body was found this week in a nearby canal after a nearly two-week search. An autopsy report concluded Vasquez died from “blunt force due to an alligator” and drowning. His death has sparked criticism as the New Orleans Police Department investigates why there was a nearly fire-hour gap between when the boy was reported missing and an officer arriving at the scene.

Abuse reported

The backstory:

His mother Hilda Vasquez told police the boy was autistic and would sneak away from home to play on a playground nearby. But the family had recently moved to a new home. 

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He was seen on doorbell camera footage, wearing only a diaper and walking down the street alone, around 5:20 the morning he escaped. His body was spotted by a drone on Tuesday. 

Bryan’s disappearance prompted a massive search that included multiple agencies, volunteers, airboats and bloodhounds.

Dig deeper:

According to a report from The New Orleans Advocate/Times-Picayune, the Department of Children and Family Services responded in 2021 to a call from Bryan’s school reporting bruises to his inner thigh and face. The 2021 states that Bryan had an individualized education plan at school because of a “traumatic brain injury (non-accidental).”  

Police reports obtained by the newspaper show that Bryan’s mother called an ambulance in late 2013 and said her 3-month-old baby had stopped breathing and was vomiting blood and milk. Bryan arrived at the emergency room with a damaged lung, retinal hemorrhages, fractures in both legs that caused his ankles to bend outward, and a skull fracture with swelling. 

Doctors believed the injuries were “acute and suspicious of non-accidental trauma.” Bryan’s mother was charged in 2014 with cruelty to juveniles and second-degree cruelty to juveniles, but she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of negligent treatment. 

Bryan was placed in foster care and was later given back to his mother, but reports of abuse continued. The 2021 DCFS report said he had bruises on his face and inner thigh and had tapeworms at least twice. 

What’s next:

New Orleans police say they are investigating Bryan’s unclassified death.