Beaten Toddler Dies; Mother’s Boyfriend Held

A severely beaten 3-year-old Rubidoux boy died in surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center on Monday, and his mother’s boyfriend was arrested on suspicion of murder, authorities said.

The mother took the boy to Riverside Community Hospital on Sunday, and he did not have a pulse when he arrived. After he was revived, doctors found bruises, severe head and abdominal trauma, broken ribs, burns to the feet and injuries to the boy’s genitals and rectum, said Riverside County sheriff’s spokesman Earl Quinata. The boy’s name was not released.

Quinata said Alex Kermith Mendoza, 27, had been watching the boy and was “responsible for the injuries.” Mendoza has been convicted of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant twice during the last four years, Riverside County court records show.