Jose Luis Gonzalez-Dominguez, 21, was arrested last month for allegedly beating his fiancee's 4-year-old daughter so severely that she died. On Friday, the girl's mother also was arrested for not reporting what authorities determined was about a year of abuse.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, Crystal Shatell Carimbocas knew her fiance was beating her kids but did nothing about it. In fact, police say she encouraged her other children to lie to authorities and say the beatings never happened.
Read our story about the alleged beating death of 4-year-old Anays Chenal Carimbocas here.
Last month's baby beat down wasn't the first time police were called to
Carimbocas' home, which she's been sharing with Gonzalez-Dominguez for
about a year.
In July of last year, Mesa police got a call from Carimbocas' mother,
who told them Anays' 6-year-old sister had been punched in the face by
Gonzalez Dominguez. The girl's mother, however -- as well as the girl's
siblings, at the direction of their mother -- told police the bruise on
the child's face happened when another one of Carimbocas' kids threw a
toy at her face.
In September, police were again called to the couple's home, this time,
because Anays had a black eye, a broken blood vessel in her left ear,
and a hematoma on her scalp.
The girl's mother, Gonzalez-Dominguez, and the girl's siblings told
police the injury happened when she fell into a table while playing with
one of her sisters.
A doctor examined the girl and determined that the injuries were "quite
severe for falling into a table, but it could have happened."
Following Anays' death, an autopsy revealed she had 14 broken ribs that
were calcified and healing, as well as a broken pelvis that was also
healing. The autopsy doctor determined those injuries did not occur
during the fatal beating that ended the young girl's life.
Mesa police interviewed Carimboca's other children, each of whom told
detectives Gonzalez-Dominguez and their mother instructed them to not
talk about the beatings, or to call police because the cops would "take
[them] away."
One of Anay's siblings told police Gonzalez-Dominguez beat the girl on a
daily basis, starting about the time he moved in with them.
The girl told police that Anays asked her mother to call police about the beatings, but she mother refused. The beatings continued until the girl was dead.
Carimboca was booked on one count of child abuse.