Cynthia Elaine Hernandez & Daniel Eduardo Romero face additional charges following death of 6-year old autistic nonverbal boy severe beating at hands of mom’s boyfriend. The pair had previously been arrested on child abuse, child neglect charges along with additional charges.
A 6-year old autistic nonverbal boy allegedly beaten by his mom’s boyfriend and whose mother lied about the assault, has died just on two months after incurring severe injuries.
Cynthia Elaine Hernandez son, Mason was taken to a North Miami Beach hospital in critical condition on Jan. 9 following the alleged attack at the hands of his mom’s boyfriend, Daniel Eduardo Romero.
According to the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) the boy who wasn’t taken to hospital until a day after the alleged assault was found to be in cardiac arrest. Medics determined that the 6-year-old had bruises on his face and back, swelling on his head and a fractured arm, along with significant internal injuries, including bleeding in his brain and lacerations to one of his kidneys, his spleen and his liver, NBC Miami reported at the time.
6-year old autistic nonverbal boy dies after taken off life support
Mason who had remained in hospital in a medically induced coma was taken off life support on Friday, February 27, and died soon after, his grandmother told NBC News.
Leading up to her boy’s tragic passing, Romero, 34, told police that the bruises and scratches were the result of a fall from a bicycle while he’d been teaching the six year old how to ride. However, when police asked to see the bicycle, Romero was allegedly unable to show them. He then told officers that the injuries occurred while they were playing on a wagon — which the police report stated had a broken wheel and looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time.
The boyfriend claimed he chose not to initially take the boy to the hospital because he didn’t realize the scope of the injuries at the time. The next day, the child lost consciousness and 911 was called.
Daniel Romero, was arrested two days later on January 11 on aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm, child neglect resulting in great bodily harm and providing false information to law enforcement. He was held without bond according to public records.
Public records show Romero havinig been charged multiple times with battery and domestic violence, including strangulation, dating back to 2014, with the most recent incident in 2023, CBS News reported.
Mason’s mom admits lying about 6-year-old autistic son’s assault
When questioned about her son’s condition, Hernandez, 32, repeated Romero’s story about a supposed fall from a bicycle. She later confessed that her boyfriend had told her to tell the police that story, and that she feared he could be the one responsible for her son’s injuries.
Hernandez additionally informed investigators that Romero often became frustrated with her son’s behaviors that were related to his autism diagnosis.
Cynthia Hernandez turned herself in to police two weeks later after admitting to lying to police about severe injuries her six year old son had received.
Lawyer for Mason’s mom claims she is also a victim
At the time of her booking on January 23, Hernandez was charged with one count of child neglect resulting in great bodily harm, one count of failure to report child abuse or neglect and one count of providing false information to law enforcement, according to court records obtained by Law & Crime.
Hernandez was released on Jan. 24 after posting bond of $11,500.
It remains unclear what new additional charges Hernandez and Romero now faced following the death of the 6-year old autistic non verbal boy. Miami police had yet to say whether the boyfriend would now face murder charges.
In a previous statement provided to NBC Miami following Hernandez’s surrender, her attorney, Hugo Apellaniz, called the Florida mom a ‘victim’ and criticized the North Miami Beach Police Department.
‘We are extremely disappointed that the N.M.B. Police Department has decided to arrest and press charges against a mother who is nothing more than a victim. People are not perfect, but this is a dire mistake,’ Apellaniz said. ‘The police are aware that our client is also a victim at the hands of Daniel Romero, as unfortunately her son was as well.’
