Police: Baby In Norman Amber Alert Had Been Dead For A Week

The man connected with an Amber Alert has been arrested on two complaints including murder, according to Oklahoma County jail records. And police say the child at the center of the investigation had been dead for a week. 

Victor Minjarez was arrested on complaints of murder and desecrating a human corpse. 

Oklahoma City police found Minjarez about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 3000 block of Venice Boulevard. After arresting Minjarez, investigators said they found a body and they think it is of 7-month-old Jody Minjarez. 

Law officers were searching for Minjarez and 7-month-old Jody Minjarez. The Amber Alert was canceled soon after Minjarez was arrested in northwest Oklahoma City. 

Norman police were called on Feb. 19 in reference to a domestic situation at a home in the 1500 block of Lakecrest Drive. The mother of the baby said Minjarez took the child after attacking her.

The mother filed a victim protective order on Feb. 23 to get the child returned to her. Officers issued an endangered child alert on Tuesday and upgraded it to an Amber Alert on Wednesday.

The mother told police she received messages from Minjarez saying she would never see the child again.

According to police, during their interview of Minjarez at police headquarters, Minjarez admitted to taking Jody after getting into a physical altercation with his mom. He said he sought shelter in the home on Venice Boulevard.

While at the home, Minjarez said he put Jody on a mattress next to a heater, and that during the night he awoke and found Jody with “several blisters on his face”. Still, Minjarez said he fell back asleep, and when he woke the next morning he found Jody “gurgling” and had “bubbles coming out of his mouth”.

Minjarez said he tried to perform CPR on Jody, but blood started to come out of the baby’s mouth. Soon after Jody passed away and Minjarez said he did not know what to do. Eventually he said he wrapped Jody’s body in a blanket, put that inside two trash bags, and then put him inside a trashcan outside the house. He took all of Jody’s clothes and put them in a separate trash bag and put it in the same trashcan outside.

Minjarez told police Jody’s body remained in the trashcan for a week, until he was arrested on Wednesday.

The state medical examiner's office determined the baby died of blunt force trauma of the head and skull fracture.