The Tucson Police Department is investigating the death of a 22-month old baby that occurred at a day care facility last month. Today, detectives made two arrests in relation to the investigation.
On September 11th, at about 5:24 p.m., officers responded to UMC Hospital reference an unresponsive baby. The baby was pronounced deceased prior to police arrival. Officers quickly determined that the baby was transported to the hospital by ambulance from a day care facility at a residence in the 2800 block of North Silver Island Way. Officers responded to the home and secured the scene.
Detectives from the Dependent Child Unit responded to continue the investigation. They learned that at the time of the incident, there were 5 adults and 11 kids inside the daycare. The day care provider was identified as 31-year old Daena Soto. Daena Soto put the baby down for a nap around 4:00 p.m. She was found a short time later unresponsive by a family member of Daena Soto and they called 911 immediately.
As the investigation continued, detectives learned that family members of Daena Soto began cleaning the residence prior to police arrival. They also determined that the Daena Soto’s mother-in-law, 55-year old Guadalupe Soto, removed a blanket from the home. Detectives believe the baby was wrapped in that blanket when she was discovered unresponsive. Guadalupe Soto was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail for 1 count of Tampering with Evidence. On September 15th, detectives recovered the blanket they believe Guadalupe Soto removed from the residence.
On October 27th, detectives received the findings of the autopsy. Based on those findings, detectives re-interviewed Daena Soto and her husband, 32-year old Ricardo Soto Jr. They determined that Daena Soto was responsible for the sole care and custody of the victim at the time of the incident. She was arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail for 1 count of Negligent Homicide. Detectives also determined Ricardo Soto was involved in the removal of evidence from the scene. He was booked into the Pima County Jail for 1 count of Tampering with Evidence.
The victim in this incident was identified as 22-month old Mia Castanon. The investigation is ongoing at this time and further information will be released as it becomes available.