Father to be charged in Gilroy child’s death
– boy wouldn’t turn off TV
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – A Gilroy boy was beaten and killed by his father in Phoenix a day before his 11th birthday, according to Phoenix police.
Emergency responders called to the father’s home at 1:30pm Sunday, June 26 declared Anthony Michael Fernandez-Rodriguez, 10, dead at the scene.
Raul Gonzales, 35, the boy’s father, was later arrested and will be charged with first-degree murder, sexual assault and child abuse. His preliminary hearing was scheduled for 8:30am today.
Gonzales originally led police to believe the boy died of complications from a heart defect. Although he had surgery for the problem as an infant, the boy hadn’t had any trouble since then. Officials with the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s office declared his death suspicious, and homicide detectives took over the investigation five hours after the body was found.
The autopsy revealed that Fernandez-Rodriguez was physically beaten and sustained both head and body trauma that led to his death, according to police.
In a notice to the media about the case, a Phoenix police spokeswoman declined to offer any specifics about the circumstances of the boy’s death, instead referring reporters to court filings.
“The details of this case are very graphic and indicate this young victim was nothing short of tortured,” Sgt. Lauri Williams said.
The boy had injuries to his abdomen, rectum and head, and bled to death from internal injuries, according to a Phoenix news radio station, citing court documents. The station also reported that Raul Gonzales told police he went “a little overboard” in punishing his son for not turning off the TV like he was told.
Fernandez-Rodriguez’s brothers, ages 13 and 14, were also visiting for the summer and were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services before they were reunited with relatives. Detectives said the two showed no signs of abuse.
It was unclear Wednesday whether the boys were visiting their father as part of a court-ordered custody agreement.
Gonzales had just been released from prison, where he was serving time for auto theft and weapons violations.
Gonzales has a history of domestic violence, but Anthony Fernandez’s aunt, Marie Lewis, said she did not know of any abuse of the boys.
“I don’t think this is anything we would imagine,” she said Wednesday.
Lewis said the family is still shocked by the death of her nephew, who lived in Gilroy but attended Paradise Valley Elementary School in Morgan Hill.
“We’re holding up,” she said. “It’s taking a toll on us, we’re up and down. I think once the body gets here … things will be different.”
His two brothers have returned to Mountain View, where the family had recently moved, she said.
“They’re still, I think, getting over the shock stage and slowly coming around,” Lewis said. “We don’t want to impose on them and make them tell us what happened.”
Lewis said her nephew – the youngest boy in a family of five – was a fun-loving 10-year-old, who played baseball and had just passed fourth grade.
“He loved riding bicycles, collecting low-rider cars. He was the typical kid, he was the lovable one, didn’t get into fights,” Lewis said.
Donations in Anthony’s memory and to help the family members can be made to Washington Mutual, account #1852950427.
