A Phoenix man is behind bars after police say he murdered the 2-year-old son of his girlfriend by beating him -- and biting him -- repeatedly over the weekend.
The kid was so badly beaten, police say, he had bruises covering 80 percent of his body.
According to court documents obtained by New Times, 24-year-old Walter Munoz beat the boy, 2-year-old Daniel Resendiz, while his mother, 27-year-old Bianca Arce, was at the store. Munoz told police he'd been drinking that night and thought it would be a good idea to try and jump over Resendiz. He failed, landed on the boy, and apparently went ballistic.
Munoz told police he was mad when he didn't stick the landing, and feared he may have broken the child's ribs, so (ahem) naturally, he grabbed Resendiz, and bit him on the face.
The boy then bit Munoz's finger, which only enraged the drunken man further.
Munoz told police that after the boy bit his finger, he started punching him "really fucking hard."
Resendiz's 5-year-old sister witnessed the beating and told police Munoz held the 2-year-old against a wall by his throat, too.
Fearing he had killed the boy, Munoz didn't call an ambulance, he put his beaten body in a bed and waited for Arce to get home.
When
Arce got back to the house, at 8131 West Indian School Road in Phoenix,
Munoz took her to the boy's bedroom and said he thought something was
wrong.
Arce saw the bruises, grabbed the boy, and ran across the street to a neighbor's house, where she called police.
Resendiz was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
This
wasn't the first time Munoz had beaten Resendiz. Previously, the
beatings were so bad that Arce was forced to take her kids and move into
a shelter.
According to the court docs, Munoz beat Resendiz with a belt and dropped him "recklessly," while trying to discipline him.
Arce knew Munoz was beating Resendiz -- she even reported him for child abuse on August 11.
Because
she knew what was going on between Munoz and her son -- and still brought the kid to live with Munoz -- she's been
charged with three counts of child abuse.
For
Munoz, things are much more serious. He's been charged with one count
of first-degree murder, and four counts of child abuse.
He's being held on $750,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for November 8.
