JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 13-month-old girl "gravely injured" at a Southside mobile home on Saturday will be taken off life support Monday afternoon, according to the family. Police have charged the mother's boyfriend with aggravated child abuse.
Police have not identified the child, but the aunt called her Isabella and provided News4Jax with pictures of her.
"We're all pretty heartbroken over it," said Tammy Lively, Isabella's aunt. "We're all going through a lot of pain."
Police called to a medical emergency at the home on Putnam Avenue, off Philips Highway, found the child unresponsive. Shortly after the girl arrived at Baptist Medical Center, doctors found multiple areas of bleeding on the brain and told police there were multiple injuries that were "indicative of child abuse."
Homicide detectives interviewed the child's mother and her boyfriend. According to the police report, Jabier Maldonado, 35, was arrested Saturday night.
The report said the mother was at the store buying diapers and baby items, and Maldonado (pictured, left, in JSO booking photo) was home with the toddler when the injuries occurred.
The Florida Department of Children and Families said the agency is looking into whether there had been safety concerns regarding that child or any other children in the home and that there will be a "full and complete investigation."
"It's so heartbreaking to hear something like this. It's really terrible," said DCF spokesman John Harrell.
Lively said she always enjoyed seeing videos of her niece and seeing pictures online.
"She was always smiling," Lively said.
Isabella's family needs help getting from Wisconsin to Florida for her funeral. The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help them.
Harrell said people need to be more careful when selecting their boyfriends and girlfriends and to make sure they are patient people if they're caring for their kids. He said to look out for warning signs, such as whether a child is acting differently when boyfriends or girlfriends are around.
"There's one national study that actually showed nearly 66 percent of all abuse cases involved perpetrators who are boyfriends of single mothers," Harrell said.
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, state law requires you to report it to the Florida Abuse Hotline by calling 1-800-962-2873. To find out more about the signs of child abuse, go to www.dontmissthesigns.org.