SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio community gathered Tuesday night to remember a 12-year-old boy who died after he was beaten. His father and stepmother are charged with injury to a child in connection to his death.
According to an arrest affidavit, the boy, Danilo Coles, was forced to do push-ups and hold boxes weighing 50 pounds with the discipline lasting several hours.
Advocates said child abuse and neglect in Bexar County is a big public health crisis.
At the vigil Tuesday night, people lifted their hands and prayed for the 12-year-old. They raised their hands toward the apartment complex where the child lived directly across from Xtreme Harvest Church. Candles and balloons now sit in his honor.
Lead Pastor of the Church Brian Ayala said he was just in tears after hearing the news.
“It was just tears, and shock,” he said.
Deborah Ayala was also in attendance with her nephew.
“We are just praying for him, because it really broke my heart,” she said.
Danilo was allegedly abused by his own father and stepmother, Derrick Coles and Kapri Cheatom. According to an affidavit, the father admitted to police he gave the boy a bloody lip, forced him to exercise for hours and beat him with a belt. The child went to the hospital Sunday and died hours later.
Dr. Kathy Fletcher is with Voices for Children of San Antonio.
“About 5,000 of confirmed cases of child maltreatment that is abuse and neglect,” she said.
Dr. Fletcher said that is number of cases Bexar County sees every year. She believes the pandemic made the crisis worse.
“It would be dumb to think it did not increase,” she said. The people who most often identify child abuse and neglect, teachers and for the younger children's childcare teachers have not seen these children. So, we don't know the numbers."
Coles and his wife face charges of intentionally causing serious bodily injuries to a child and each have a $150,000 bond. As autopsy results are still pending, there's no word yet on whether the charges will be upgraded to murder.
A spokesman for Child Protective Services says there were other children in the home, and they have taken action to protect those kids. Privacy constraints prohibit them from saying anything about the number, age or condition of those children.