A 6-year-old Florida boy who was allegedly severely beaten by his mother’s boyfriend has died from his injuries.
The boy, Mason, who was autistic, was brought to a North Miami Beach hospital in critical condition on Jan. 9 after he was found in cardiac arrest at his home, per the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) arrest records submitted to the Miami-Dade County courts.
His grandmother has since told NBC Miami that Mason was taken off a ventilator and died on Friday, Feb. 27, after spending weeks in the hospital.
MDPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
After being admitted to the hospital in January, doctors found that Mason had sustained internal brain bleeding, a fractured arm, bruising on his face and back, swelling on his head and lacerations to the liver, kidney and spleen, among other injuries, per the public arrest records.
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Daniel Eduardo Romero.Miami Dade Corrections
His mother’s boyfriend, Daniel Eduardo Romero, 34, was arrested two days later, on Jan. 11 after allegedly giving conflicting accounts of the events that led to Mason’s injuries, per the arrest records. Mason’s mother, Cynthia Elaine Hernandez, 32, also gave conflicting stories, per the records.
At one point, Romero — who is not Mason’s biological father — attributed the child’s injuries to learning how to ride a bicycle, and he later allegedly changed his story after failing to produce the bike. Hernandez initially corroborated this story, but he later told authorities that Romero had instructed her to say that they had been riding bikes, according to the arrest report.
She also allegedly said that the day before he was hospitalized, Mason had suffered an injury that Romero attributed to the child falling and hitting his head on a TV. After leaving and returning, she discovered that her son had suffered more injuries, which Romero said he sustained while running indoors with socks on, per the arrest report.
The following day, Mason’s lips began turning blue, so she told Romero to make a 911 call and that was when officers arrived.
Hernandez later told investigators that she believed Romero had caused her son’s injuries. She said he became frequently frustrated with Mason due to behavior she attributed to his autism and similarly became frustrated when their 5-month-old baby would cry.
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Cynthia Elaine Hernandez.Miami Dade Corrections
Following his arrest, Romero was charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm, as well as child neglect causing great bodily harm and providing false information to law enforcement, records show. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held without bond, according to public court records.
Hernandez, who surrendered herself to authorities two weeks after Romero’s arrest, was charged with child abuse, as well as child neglect with great bodily harm and providing false information to law enforcement. She pleaded not guilty. Her bond was set at $7,500 and she is no longer in police custody, per public court records.
It is currently unknown whether Romero and Hernandez will face additional charges following Mason’s death.
Attorneys for both Hernandez and Romero did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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.”
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