SAN ANTONIO – Jurors in the trial of a man accused of starving his 4-year-old son to death saw disturbing video of injuries the boy suffered about four weeks before he died.
The video from San Antonio Police Department bodycam footage was shown Tuesday in Day 2 of the trial of Brandon Cervera, who is charged with injury to a child in the death of his son Benjamin Cervera.
The video showed disturbing images of Benjamin with two black eyes and protruding bones.
SAPD Officer Omar Perez spent most of the day testifying about the day he and other officers responded to a welfare call about the boy in 2021.
Perez testified that the home Benjamin lived in with his father and stepmother looked clean but the officer noticed that the boy looked different than the other children.
“He had visible injuries. He had bruises on his eyes and torso and he was skinny ... able to see his bones,” Perez said.
When the defendant and his ex-wife Miranda Casarez were asked about the injuries, they said Benjamin would poke his eyes and ears, had behavioral issues and they had scheduled doctors appointments to get his injuries checked.
Throughout the questioning in the home, Benjamin can be seen several times in the video asking his father for food and was told to wait.
During cross examination, you could hear a conversation between another police officer speaking with the boy about his injuries.
“See your eyes? How did they get like that?,” the officer asked. Benjamin responded, “I poked them,” adding that he also hit his head on the floor.
Perez testified that EMS checked Benjamin’s vitals, which were normal.
The officer said he was only told to call Child Protective Services and fill out an information report, which would lead to further investigation at a later date. Whether an investigation was launched has not been addressed in the trial.
Perez says he wished he could have been done more.
Benjamin was found unresponsive on Aug. 17, 2021, and was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death was due to starvation.
Casarez was found guilty in the case and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
If Brandon Cervera is found guilty, he faces up to life in prison.
Testimony will resume Thursday morning in the 186th District Court. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
KSAT 12 will livestream Cevera’s trial gavel to gavel on all digital platforms. We want to warn you that details in this case will be hard to watch and hear during the trial.
You can learn more about the case in the video below:
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