A Texas man is facing a jury trial to determine whether or not he is responsible for starving his 4-year-old son to death in 2021.
According to Texas Public Radio, KSAT, CBS Austin and KENS 5, prosecutors from the Bexar County District Attorney’s office allege that 31-year-old Brandon Lee Cervera and his then-wife Miranda Casarez starved Cervera’s son Benjamin to death on Aug. 17, 2021.
Cervera’s trial began on Tuesday, Sept. 24, more than three years after Benjamin died in a San Antonio hospital. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled that Benjamin’s cause of death was starvation, according to KSAT.
According to a press release issued by the district attorney’s office in May 2022, when Cervera was indicted, he faces a charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, jurors heard testimony from San Antonio Police officer Omar Perez, who was called to Cervera’s home in 2021 for a welfare check, per KSAT.
“[Benjamin] had visible injuries,” Perez testified. “He had bruises on his eyes and torso and he was skinny … able to see his bones.”
Cervera disputed these claims, claiming that Benjamin had behavioral issues that caused him to injure himself which resulted in his bruising, KSAT reported.
Defense attorney Jodi Soyars argued during her opening statement that the boy was always small in stature, and also claimed that doctors did not raise concerns about his health in the days leading up to his death, per KSAT.
“This kid was not starved or dehydrated, and it will be in scientific evidence,” Soyars said.
CBS Austin and KSAT reported that prosecutors showed the jurors images of Benjamin’s body during the medical examiner’s testimony, illustrating how underweight and malnourished the child was. The medical examiner also backed up Perez’s claims about bruising on Benjamin’s body, testifying that she found bruises during his autopsy.
Brandon Lee Cervera appears in court in September 2024.
WOAI
“He died of starvation, his death was ruled a homicide,” Bexar County Chief Medical Examiner Kimberly Molina testified, per KSAT.
“He appeared to be underweight and small for his age,” she added, describing Benjamin’s autopsy findings.
Molina said that Benjamin weighed 28 lbs. at the time of his death, and photos showed that his ribs were visible through his chest, KSAT and CBS reported.
Additionally, pediatrician James Lukefahr, who treated Benjamin in the San Antonio hospital where he was declared dead, testified that he was underweight for his age and said that he agreed with the medical examiner’s ruling that Benjamin’s cause of death was starvation, KSAT reported.
“In my opinion, there was substantial evidence that Benji had been the victim of starvation leading up to his death,” Lukefahr said, per the outlet.
In April 2023, Benjamin’s stepmother Casarez was convicted of the same charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, Texas Public Radio, KENS 5 and CBS Austin reported. During Casarez’s trial, prosecutors showed the jury photos taken of the family’s refrigerator and Benjamin’s bedroom door — both of which were locked with padlocks, the outlets reported.
Also during Casarez’s trial, Benjamin’s older brother — identified only as “BC” in court documents — testified that their stepmother abused Benjamin and forced him to eat hot sauce and hand sanitizer, and also threw his body in the air without catching him, per Texas Public Radio.
Per KENS 5 and Texas Public Radio, videos were seized from Casarez’s cellphone during the investigation that showed footage of Benjamin shaking and crying as he begged for bread.
Cervera faces a maximum sentence of 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted, per the district attorney’s office.
