-
Todd Perez, 32, arrested after a child police say he severely abused in 2012 died in 2023. PHOTO/OSCEOLA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
A man who police say severely abused a 3-month-old in 2012 has been charged with murder, since the child involved has died.
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that Todd Perez, 32, was arrested for murder committed during a felony and booked in the Osceola County Jail.
In December 2012, Perez was charged with aggravated child abuse and later pled to the charges and was sentenced to state prison in 2014. Due to the injuries, police say, the child was a quadriplegic, nonverbal and blind, and developed medical problems including cerebral palsy, muscle atrophy, seizure disorder, acute bronchopneumonia and required a feeding tube.
The child ultimately died at the age of 10 years old on April 26, 2023. The 10th Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the 10-year-old child’s death a homicide based on injuries inflicted by Todd Perez. On Wednesday, the Sheriff's Homicide Unit with the assistance of the United States Marshals Office arrested Perez.
Osceola County court records show Perez arrested for aggravated battery in (2011), felony battery, aggravated battery on a pregnant person (earlier in 2012) but the charges were prosecuted. Records show he was also sentenced to 10 years for a robbery with a deadly weapon charge in 2015.
