Connecticut probation officials never investigated what ultimately was found to be a fake Stamford address for a Guatemalan native and illegal alien who is suspected of killing his 2-year-old son, according to court documents.
Edgar Ismalej-Gomez, 26, who had already been convicted and served time for abusing his son when the child was just eight months old, is now suspected of killing the toddler identified by Stamford police as Liam Rivera, Hearst media reported Wednesday.
The report noted law enforcement officials say Ismalej-Gomez allegedly buried his son’s remains in a plastic bag in Cummings Park, and held the child’s mother at gunpoint throughout the past week.
According to the Hearst media report, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the boy’s death a homicide, the result of “multiple blunt force injuries to the head.”
Ismalej-Gomez is being held on a $3 million bond on a charge of violating probation while law enforcement investigates his son’s death.
Body cam footage of the suspect’s arrest can be viewed below via CT Insider:
Court documents reportedly indicate not only did probation officials fail to check out the Stamford address the suspect gave as his own but also that it has yet to be determined whether anyone was even actively looking for him.
According to the news report:
There was a protective order prohibiting Ismalej-Gomez, 26, from having contact with Rivera after he pleaded guilty last year to breaking the boy’s arm in 2021. However, Supervisory State’s Attorney Michelle Manning said Tuesday during his arraignment in state Superior Court in Stamford that Ismalej-Gomez had been living with Rivera and the child’s mother for the past few weeks.
The suspect was released from prison last May after serving 60 days of his five-year prison sentence, part of a plea agreement for the child abuse charges.
Ismalej-Gomez was supposed to have attended parenting classes after being released from jail, to have provided a DNA sample, and to have complied with a plan from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF).
Citing court documents, the report continued the suspect, nevertheless, “had not attended probation meetings since June 15 and had no contact with his probation officer for months, according to the arrest warrant charging him with violation of probation. He had also stopped attending court-ordered parenting classes, the warrant said.”
Following his release from prison, Ismalej-Gomez reportedly provided Judicial Branch probation office Sara Bassford with an address on East Main Street in Stamford where he claimed he was living.
Hearst media continued:
But Bassford didn’t confirm or go to the address until Aug. 4 after Ismalej-Gomez failed to show up to meetings and had not contacted her for more than two months, the warrant said. The address turned out to be a fake, the warrant said. The length of time it took Basswood to confirm the address violated Judicial Branch policy, according to Gary Roberge, executive director of the agency’s Court Support Services Division, which includes adult probation.
Bassford finally obtained a warrant charging Ismalej-Gomez with violation of probation on August 10 – nearly three months since he had been in contact with her, according to the warrant.
Stamford police reportedly believe the suspect had been living with his son, the child’s mother, and her two other children.
The child’s mother reportedly claimed Ismalej-Gomez was holding her at gunpoint after he allegedly killed their son, and they buried his body in the park, Manning said during the arraignment.
Additionally, police said the child’s mother related Ismalej-Gomez forced her to travel with him to and from West Virginia until Monday, when she was able to break free and call her attorney, who informed police of the circumstances.
DCF Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes reportedly said in a statement the agency removed the little boy from his mother’s home in 2021 but returned him to her in 2022.
A spokesperson for DCF said the agency might contact probation or other community officials regarding missed parenting classes, etc. depending “on the nature of the situation.”
Gary Roberge, executive director of the agency’s Court Support Services Division, which includes adult probation, said, according to Hearst media, DCF is not required to report an individual’s fulfillment of responsibility to participate in a court-ordered program.
However, the two agencies do “routinely communicate,” he said, if a child is identified as a victim and DCF is already involved in the case.
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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Edgar Ismalej-Gomez” by CTInsider.
