Father Arrested In 2018 Death Of Infant In Deltona

Date Added: March 05, 2020 10:32 am

Andrew Gant
Office of Public Affairs & Media Relations

FATHER ARRESTED IN 2018 DEATH OF INFANT IN DELTONA

The father of a less than 3-month-old infant who was fatally injured in November 2018 in Deltona has been arrested on charges of first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse.

Emmanuelle Vazquez, 30 (DOB 3/1/1990), was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday and arrested in Orlando shortly thereafter by members of a United States Marshal’s Service fugitive task force and the Orange County fugitive unit. He is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail.

The victim, Julius (J.J.) Vazquez, was 7 days short of turning 3 months old when deputies responded to a 911 call at his home on Grayton Street in Deltona shortly before 4 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2018. The call indicated an infant wasn’t breathing. A Volusia Sheriff’s Office detective was in the area working an unrelated case when he heard the call on the radio. He got to the house within 3 minutes and started CPR until paramedics arrived, and J.J. was transported to Halifax Hospital in Deltona, where medical personnel were able to gain a pulse. J.J. was then airlifted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Sadly, J.J. died the next day, Nov. 15.

An autopsy revealed severe internal injuries to the head and upper torso, and J.J.’s death was ruled a homicide via blunt force.

After initially denying any knowledge of how J.J. was injured, his father Vazquez eventually gave an account admitting he’d accidentally dropped J.J. head first onto the ground in the back yard. However, a lengthy investigation into the case revealed evidence that J.J.’s injuries were caused by more than an accidental fall.

On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office detective on the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force who arrested Emmanuelle Vazquez was the same detective who gave CPR to J.J. in 2018.