SAN ANTONIO — More than six months ago, 12-year-old Danilo Coles died a tragic death in northwest San Antonio.
In an arrest affidavit for an injury to a child case, police say evidence suggests the child was punished to death.
Now, 208 days later, the boy is finally being laid to rest in Chicago, where he has extended family.
The details of his torture and death on February 6, 2022, are still hard to comprehend.
The affidavit for arrest warrants for the father and stepmother of the boy document the abuse he allegedly endured.
Police were called to the Woodland Ridge Apartments on Wurzbach Road near Babcock Road for an unresponsive 12-year-old boy.
Initially, Danilo Cole's father said the boy slipped and fell in the shower, but the arrest affidavit claims the child had numerous serious injuries.
The father, Derrick Coles, admitted to investigators that he bloodied the boy's lip, forced him to exercise for hours, and beat him badly with a belt.
At the hospital, medical personnel said the boy had no brain activity and was pronounced dead just four hours later.
Now, Derrick Coles is free on bond, according to court records, released back in May with special conditions: no contact with any minors and no guns. The county clerk's website says Coles is awaiting indictment.
Meanwhile, the case against the child's stepmother has been dismissed outright. That happened May 4, and records show Kapri Cheatom was released from jail the same day.
The Bexar County medical examiner has yet to rule on the boy's exact cause and manner of death. Prosecutors need that ruling to move forward to press for justice for Danilo, but on this day, the child is finally in a place where he can rest in peace.