Jayden Matthew Villarreal

Story

Mom seeks answers after infant son dies in CPS foster care

The following preserves the family's account and the attributed archived source material.

Mom seeks answers after infant son dies in CPS foster care

Archived Post 2012-07-13 · Lukes Dad

SAN ANTONIO -- A mother with her six children in six different foster care homes is trying to find out why it took more than eight hours to learn her 10-month-old son had passed away.

Jayden Matthew Villarreal was placed in a therapeutic foster home to deal with his ongoing medical issues. Preliminary reports suggest he may have died of asphyxiation.

Monika Villarreal saw her son last Monday and was scheduled to visit him this Wednesday.

The trouble started at 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Jayden died at a San Antonio hospital at 1 a.m. Monday.

Villarreal said CPS should have notified her immediately, but instead, she didn't find out her son had died until 9 a.m. Monday.

"Why weren't we told sooner? We could have been at the hospital with him," said Monika Villarreal. "That's what hurts me the most, I didn't get to spend time with my son."

Villarreal was placed on a safety plan last October. Her children were removed following Jayden's birth. Traces of two drugs were found in his system.

Villarreal said she has been clean for one year and three months and wants her remaining five children home as soon as possible.

"We've done everything, everything they have asked, and still they're putting obstacles in front of us, keeping us from our kids," said Villarreal. "I need my kids as much as they need me."

An autopsy is pending.

by James Muñoz / KENS 5

http://www.kens5.com