Lehigh Acres toddler dies after severe abuse, LCSO says

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
Yannier Velazquez-Orjeda (Credit: LCSO booking photo)

A 23-month-old Lehigh Acres girl has died after she was taken to the hospital with severe injuries suffered during abuse, authorities said Tuesday.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office went to a home on 23rd Street Southwest on May 17 and found the child with life-threatening injuries. She was taken to Golisano Children’s Hospital and then flown to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.

After an investigation, deputies arrested Yannier Velazquez-Orjeda, 36. He was charged with aggravated child abuse.

The sheriff’s office has not released the suspect’s relation to the child, only saying that she was in his care when the abuse happened. Investigators said they were told Velazquez-Orjeda took the perfectly healthy child into his bedroom and locked the door. When her mother found them 30 minutes later, the child was unresponsive.

Velazquez-Orjeda couldn’t explain her injuries, which included skull fractures, brain bleeding, and bruises all over her body.

The Department of Children and Families reported that the girl died three days after she was taken to the hospital.

Velazquez-Orjeda was released May 19 from Lee County Jail on $250,000 bond.

Any new charges against Velazquez-Orjeda have yet to be filed. The State Attorney’s Office said they do not comment on active cases.

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