Wildwood Man Charged In Toddler's Death

WOODBINE, N.J. - A 2-year-old boy is dead and investigators allege that his mother's boyfriend is to blame.

The mother found the boy unresponsive inside her apartment in Woodbine, N.J.

The boyfriend, 31-year-old Damon Garcia, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

As Cape May County prosecutors and the state police continue to build their case, the close-knit town of Woodbine has been left wondering how anybody could harm a well-known, well-loved and well-cared-for boy, Fox 29's Steve Keeley reported.

"The heck did that kid ever do to deserve anything like that? Nobody deserves nothing like that. That's … terrible," said a local woman.

"I've seen the baby with the black and blue on his face," said the father of 2-year-old Caden Rivera.

The father said he's not just angry at Garcia but also the Cape May Division of Youth and Family Services, which he claims ignored all of his complaints and demands to remove his son from the mother's apartment.

That's where prosecutors allege Garcia was watching the boy while the mother went to get the son -- who had cerebral palsy -- some medication Wednesday afternoon.

"Jennifer was very distraught, very, very distraught. And she was crying that, you know, 'That bastard, he killed my baby,'" one woman told Fox 29 News.

"She always had him with her. I mean, he was such a happy little thing,"

Caden's mother, Jennifer Bowen, was too upset to talk Friday morning, her sister said. But she did stop by a local diner, Dionysus Restaurant -- the same one she took her son to almost every day -- and told friends there what happened.

"The boyfriend said, 'Oh, he threw up all over the place, but now he's asleep. You may want to check on him because he doesn't look very well," one friend said, recounting what she was told.

As soon as Bowen returned home Wednesday afternoon and saw that Caden was unconscious and turning blue, she and Garcia then rushed her son to Cape Regional Medical Center, where doctors tried to revive him, Keeley reported.

State troopers said, however, the boy may have already been dead when he got to the hospital. An autopsy showed he died of internal bleeding and severe abdominal injuries, and his death was immediately ruled a homicide.

Garcia had returned home to his Wildwood apartment, where troopers found him, brought him back to the Woodbine state police barracks and, after an interview, arrested him in connection with the death.

"I was devastated. I started crying. I said, 'Jennifer, what the heck happened?' And then I said, 'I've got to go,' and I went in the back because I couldn't -- it's terrible for anybody, no matter what," one of the women said.

"She was very good with him with the palsy. She took almost monthly trips to Children's Hospital to make sure he was safe," said another of the women.

Fox 29 News was told by office workers that the head of the Cape May Division of Youth and Family Services was away on training Friday morning and not available to comment on the father's claims or say whether her office will look into the handling of Caden's case.

In the meantime, prosecutors said Garcia is being held on bail set at $500,000 -- money he's not likely to raise since he told state troopers he's never held a job.

Bowen told friends she's now two-months pregnant with his child, Keeley reported. No charges have been filed against her.