SAN ANTONIO – The young daughter of a man accused in the death of a five-year-old boy testified Wednesday that she saw him ‘hit’ the boy.
Domenic Aguilar Acevedo, died around July 24, 2021, in San Antonio, and his remains were found a month later in a Colorado ravine.
Daniel Garcia, along with the boy’s mother Nickolle Aguilar, were arrested in the case. Aguilar has since taken a plea deal while Garcia is currently on trial.
Garcia’s then four-year-old daughter was with the couple along with their other children when Dominic died.
Now, seven years old, she testified in Garcia’s trial from another courtroom on Wednesday.
When asked about her father, she said she was afraid of him. When asked why she said because he wasn’t a good person.
Later she was asked if Aguilar did anything wrong and she said, “No.”
She also mentioned that she saw her father hit Domenic but couldn’t remember where they were when it happened.
Also on Wednesday, Domenic’s grandmother Sirle Acevedo took the stand to testify.
She said she had become concerned about her grandson because he wasn’t with Aguilar when they arrived at her father’s home in Costa Rica.
Acevedo through a translator, told the jury that she could never speak to her daughter if Garcia was around and testified that Aguilar repeatedly told her that Domenic had been left with a friend in San Antonio because he got sick.
Eventually, Acevedo said she went to Costa Rica for answers and said her daughter eventually admitted that Domenic had died.
Garcia’s defense team is blaming Aguilar for Dominic’s death. During cross-examination, his attorneys asked her if she was to blame for Domenic’s injuries.
Aguilar did admit to spanking Domenic with an open hand and having anger problems but said that Garcia was the one who abused him.
Testimony in this care resumes around 1:30 on Thursday.
Garcia is facing up to life in prison if found guilty.
KSAT 12 will be livestreaming Garcia’s trial on KSAT.com, KSAT Plus and KSAT’s YouTube channel.