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Medical examiner confirms 4-year-old boy died of starvation

Brandon Cervera faces up to life in prison if convicted in his son’s death

SAN ANTONIO – A 4-year-old boy’s autopsy report was the focus of testimony Thursday in the trial of his father.

Brandon Cervera is charged with injury to a child in connection with the death of his son, Benjamin Cervera.

The boy was found unresponsive on Aug. 17, 2021, when his stepmother took him to a hospital, where he died.

Six months later, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death as starvation, which the state said was the defendant’s fault.

Testifying on the witness stand Thursday was Bexar County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kimberly Molina.

Both the state and defense questioned Molina, going into details pertaining to Benjamin’s death. After all questions were completed, the main conclusion for Benjamin’s death was starvation.

“He [Benjamin] died of starvation, his death was ruled a homicide,” Molina said.

The jury was shown intake photos of when Benjamin’s body arrived at the medical examiner’s office.

“He [Benjamin] appeared to be underweight and small for his age,” Molina said.

Cervera is the second defendant to stand trial for Benjamin’s death. His ex-wife, Miranda 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 Friday 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.

More Trial Coverage:


About the Authors
Erica Hernandez headshot

Erica Hernandez is an Emmy award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience in the broadcast news business. Erica has covered a wide array of stories all over Central and South Texas. She's currently the court reporter and cohost of the podcast Texas Crime Stories.

Halee Powers headshot

Halee Powers is a KSAT producer primarily focused on digital newscasts and events.

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