The aunt of the late toddler who was allegedly sexually abused and murdered by his cousin in San Jose sent out a heartbreaking message mourning the child.
Jessica Moreno, 2-year-old Jaxon’s aunt, sent out the message shortly before the child died April 9.
“My nephew is on his way to heaven to be with his mama. He officially has no brain activity,” she wrote on Facebook.
Moreno explained that his death was the latest in a series of tragedies she’s had to face in recent times.
“Over the last year and a half I have now lost 4 of my immediate family members. Something has to give for our family. I will not go into what happened as there is a huge investigation and we only know minor details. Life has been so unfair to him since the start. Just know we will get Justice ! we Love You Jax,” she added.
Jaxon’s now-18-year-old cousin allegedly left him in the “small, bruised and battered” state that police found him in on Easter Sunday this year. He’s been charged with murder and several felonies, such as child assault causing death and sexual assault.
Prosecutors want to try the 18-year-old, then 17, as an adult.
“This was a 2-year-old child who was horribly abused and viciously murdered,” Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “And we want to make sure that the level of accountability is the right level.”
Investigators say evidence points to the suspect sexually assaulting his cousin and physically abusing him when he was placed with his family by the county in February. The foster mother, Bridget Michelle Martinez, had a prior conviction for felony child endangerment.
Moreno has said publicly that she regrets not gaining full custody of her nephew, as she and her sister Riley Wallace, had been trying to do. Wallace previously said they plan to sue the Santa Clara County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services for placing the child in the foster mother’s care.
“We were shocked, distraught, and hopeless at the fact that CPS failed him and allowed this to happen. We are heartbroken without him and miss him every single day,” Wallace told The California Post.
She’s hoping the system that allegedly doomed Jaxon is changed, and called for the teen to be served the death penalty, even if it is unlikely.
“We want to see change in the system and see CPS held accountable for not doing enough and doing proper background checks on families and doing their job properly!” she said.
“We want [the teen] served the death penalty, but that won’t happen, I pray he gets life in prison as an adult for what he made my nephew suffer and go through. I hope he’s suffering in jail, and I hope his mother serves time for abusing and neglecting Jaxon.”
The family recently held a #JusticeforJaxon event and mourned the toddler. Moreno, and the family have been enraged by what the teen allegedly did to her nephew.
“They should bring back stoning and let the family take care of it,” she wrote on Facebook.
