FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas man was charged with capital murder after police say he stole a woman’s car and ran over and killed her 1-year-old son when he ambushed a custody meeting between the boy’s parents.
Fort Worth police said Nico Delafuente, 30, attempted the carjacking in the parking lot of Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth. He was arrested Sunday.
Zayden Mclean was rushed to the hospital but later died from his injuries. The child’s mother and father, who share custody of the boy, were hospitalized with injuries not considered life-threatening.
There was no indication Delafuente knew the boy or his parents, or that the carjacking was related to the custody handoff.
Police said when Delafuente tried to drive off in the mother’s vehicle, the child’s father jumped in to stop him. The suspect reversed the car and hit the mother, who was holding Zayden, causing them both to fall on the ground. Delafuente ran over the child and crashed into a tree, police said. A hospital security guard took Delafuente into custody, and he was apprehended when police arrived.
Vickie Bingham, the child’s grandmother, told KDFW-TV that her daughter is still in the hospital. She is recovering from skull fractures, road rash and bleeding in her brain.
“We just want prayers for our daughter and Zayden’s dad,” Bingham said. “They saw a lot, and they need prayers. They need healing.”
The TV station also reported that Delafuente has also been charged with aggravated robbery and that he is being held at the Fort Worth jail on bonds totaling $600,000. The investigation is ongoing.
