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Neighbors reported hearing screaming hours before baby found dead

Police found 3-month-old inside Stone Oak apartment

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – A disturbing discovery involving the death of a baby at a Stone Oak apartment complex Tuesday morning followed a night of disturbances there, according to neighbors.

Police investigating suspicious baby death in Stone Oak

San Antonio police found a three month old boy, not breathing, inside a second floor unit at the Sonterra Heights apartment, located in the 18700 block of Stone Oak Parkway.

Police are investigating the death of a baby at a Stone Oak apartment complex. (KSAT)

Hours before they answered the 4 a.m. call, though, Jerry Ragantesi said he woke up to a commotion coming from that same upstairs apartment.

“It was around 2:30,” he said. “There was some yelling, (someone saying) ‘Don’t call me that.’ At that point, then it, kind of, got a little quiet.”

Another neighbor told KSAT12 the calm didn’t last long. He said about an hour after that, he heard yelling again, this time from a woman saying to call 911.

“All of a sudden, and ambulance and the cops and everybody showed up, and it’s been pretty hectic since,” Ragantesi said.

A sergeant who responded to the home said one of the people who called 911 was the woman inside the apartment, the mother of the baby.

He said she told dispatchers her baby was on the floor of the apartment and not breathing.

The sergeant said after paramedics showed up, they determined that the death was suspicious.

Officers then took the mother into custody.

Officers stand outside van containing the baby’s mother. She was taken in for a mental evaluation, police say. (KSAT 12 News)

She could be heard in the back of a police van, at first calmly asking why she was being detained, then yelling at officers seconds later to hurry up and drive.

The sergeant said because of her behavior, she was taken for a mental evaluation.

Although he initially said she was a suspect, a later police report stated that the case is still under investigation.

As of late Tuesday morning, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office had not yet determined the cause or manner of the infant’s death.


About the Authors
Katrina Webber headshot

Katrina Webber joined KSAT 12 in December 2009. She reports for Good Morning San Antonio. Katrina was born and raised in Queens, NY, but after living in Gulf Coast states for the past decade, she feels right at home in Texas. It's not unusual to find her singing karaoke or leading a song with her church choir when she's not on-air.

Tim Stewart headshot

Tim has been a photojournalist and video editor at KSAT since 1998. He came to San Antonio from Lubbock, where he worked in TV and earned his bachelor's degree in Electronic Media and Communication from Texas Tech University. Tim has won a handful of awards and has earned a master's in Strategic Communication and Innovation from Tech as well.

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