A Chicago boy whose family was preparing to celebrate his fourth birthday Friday was killed in what police have described as a “possibly domestic situation” on the city’s Southwest Side. Continue reading after the jump.
Christopher Valdez was killed Friday afternoon and was found dead when police arrived at a home on the 5100 block of South Trumbull Avenue around 2:10 p.m. that day, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The boy had died from multiple blunt force trauma and may have been dead for several hours before emergency crews arrived on the scene, police said.
Though all the details of the incident have not yet been made public, according to the Sun-Times, the boy’s mother Crystal Valdez called one of her brothers Friday “desperate for help,” one of whom arrived on the scene, restrained her boyfriend and discovered that the young boy had been beaten.
Steven Valdez, the boy’s great uncle, told NBC Chicago noted that the boyfriend of his niece, currently in police custody, is known for being anti-social and violent. Two weeks ago, the man beat a dog severely after it relieved itself in his home.
Christopher’s family is shocked, confused and hurt. The Chicago Tribune reports that the boy’s mother has also been brought in by police for questioning in the incident. No charges have yet been filed.
The boy’s grandfather Tom Valdez told the Tribune that his grandson was a cheerful kid who loved Spiderman and playing with a toy rabbit he walked with everywhere. The boy has three other siblings.
