Man Jailed in Death of Girlfriend’s Son, 2

A Van Nuys man has been arrested on suspicion of killing the 2-year-old son of his girlfriend, police said Friday.

Saul Vazquez, 25, was arrested about 1 a.m. Thursday at the LAPD’s Van Nuys station after he and Noelia Villanueva, the woman with whom he shared an apartment, went there Wednesday night to be interviewed by detectives.

LAPD Det. Daniel Aguirre said an autopsy found severe abdominal trauma to be the cause of death. Besides abdominal bruises, there were no other signs of abuse.

The child, Anthony Carrillo, was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital on Monday night, according to police records.

The couple told doctors the boy was napping when they realized he was not breathing. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital, but an emergency room doctor refused to sign the death certificate because the cause of death was unclear.

Neighbors at the couple’s apartment building -- one of two in a quiet, gated complex shaded by palm trees -- said Vazquez and his girlfriend mostly kept to themselves.

On Friday no one answered the door at the couple’s first-floor apartment and the blinds were drawn shut.

Josefina Garcia, the apartment manager, said the couple left Monday night and came back briefly the next afternoon. They had been living in the apartment about two months, she added.

The couple’s neighbor, Maria Lozano, said she spoke with Vazquez on Tuesday afternoon. She said she asked him what had happened and he replied that the boy was dead and there would be an autopsy.

Vazquez was being held at the Van Nuys station on $1 million bond.

Because police can legally hold suspects for only 48 hours, detectives said Friday that they would file for an extension to hold him past the Martin Luther King holiday. Det. Nancy Nelson said she expects the district attorney’s office to review the case Tuesday.