Mother Sentenced to 50 Years for Killing 2-Year-Old Son

BROWNWOOD, TX – Vanessa Nicole Narvaez, 22, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to killing her 2-year-old son Anival.

According to KTXS, in November of last year Narvaez “picked up Anival and slammed him down on the floor, not once but twice.” Court documents showed that Narvaez was taken to her home by the Texas Rangers where she re-enacted the murder for them.

According to the baby’s father, Daniel, he was out getting lunch when the incident occurred. When he returned Anival was unconscious and Narvaez told him the baby had climbed on the dresser and fell off.

The ER doctor that treated Anival said the injuries he suffered weren’t explained by falling off the dresser and stated that "unless someone hit Anival halfway down with a baseball bat" the story didn’t make sense. He stated that in the past he had treated children who had been kicked in the head by a horse that had less severe skull fractures. 

Anival was taken to the Brownwood Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Cook’s Children Medical Center in Fort Worth where he died during surgery.

9-1-1 records show that Narvaez called emergency services but that the call was disconnected. She then waited 12 minutes to call back.

Police believe that Anival’s three-year-old brother witnessed the murder and during an interview said that his mom would choke his dad.

After the murder, CPS took custody of the couple’s two other kids because they had “extreme concerns” that Daniel could not protect them. Anival had injuries that were consistent with shaken baby syndrome, the three-year-old had abrasions and bruising, and both of Anival’s brothers were “very dirty.”

The family had three cases filed against them with CPS. Two of the cases were dismissed, but in December of 2016 CPS did take custody of the kids for 10 months after they couldn’t explain why 4-month-old Anival had a broken arm. They regained custody of the children back in October of 2017.