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An Edinburg man was arraigned Friday morning for allegedly beating his 6-month-old daughter to death, according to court records.
Jesus Bustamante, 27, is charged with three counts of injury to a child, aggravated assault of a family member with a weapon, murder and capital murder of a person under 10 years of age for the death of Citlali Arabella Bustamante.
Bustamante pleaded not guilty to the charges Friday morning. The court gave him $530,000 in bonds and his case was reset for January. He was also ordered not to contact his co-defendant and no harmful contact with his other children.
Bustamante was initially arrested on Sept. 13, 2023 for an injury to a child charge and released the following day.
Citlali’s mother, Nitzali Rodriguez, of Edinburg, was also arrested the same day for the same charge and was released the next day.
It’s not immediately clear if Rodriguez is his co-defendant or if she’s been indicted.
According to an obituary, Citlali died on Dec. 5, 2023 in Rosenburg, Texas.
The indictment against Bustamante alleges that he caused Citlali serious bodily injury on or around Aug. 8, 2023, by striking her against a bed, the floor, his hands or an unknown object to the grand jurors.
The document also states that he “intentionally or knowingly, by omission, cause serious bodily injury to Citlali… by failing to intercede or stop the physical abuse of [Citlali] by Nitzali Rodriguez.”
“…the defendant had a legal or statutory duty to act, to wit: the care, protection, and control of a child by a parent to do so,” the indictment stated.
The indictment also alleges that Bustamante failed to provide his daughter medical care.
