Boy found dead with burns, cuts and bruises; mother, her fiance arrested

Modesto police have arrested the mother of a 3-year-old boy and her fiance on suspicion that they tortured and killed the child.

The boy died of injuries that included burns, lacerations and bruises, the Modesto Bee reported Saturday.

Emergency personnel went to a home Wednesday to check on a child who was not breathing, Modesto police said. The boy was taken to a hospital in critical condition and then flown by helicopter to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera.

Detectives arrested the child’s mother, 24-year-old Connie Escamilla, on suspicion of murder, and her fiance, 20-year-old Kylie Beasley, on suspicion of murder and torture. Escamilla’s 7-year-old daughter was placed with Child Protective Services.

The child’s cause of death has not been determined.