A young father in Texas pleaded guilty after he was arrested for shaking and beating his malnourished 1-month-old twins, leading to their deaths.
Fernando Vega entered his plea after being charged with injury to a child with serious bodily injury in the deaths of his children, Massail and Mirena Vega. Following his plea, Vega, 23, was sentenced to serve 40 years in prison.
Additionally, Vega’s girlfriend, Angelina Calderon, is facing the same charge and will have her own court hearing regarding the case on Thursday, March 5.
Vega found the twins unresponsive at their home in Houston around 11 a.m. on October 4, 2023, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law & Crime. He then called Calderon to tell her that the babies were “not waking up” and were “doing nothing.”
Police Arrest Oregon Dad for Allegedly Beating His Days-Old Son to Death
Calderon called 911 and Vega provided aid until the ambulance arrived. However, the twins were not able to be saved, and they were later pronounced dead.
Amid the investigation, Calderon allegedly told detectives she last saw the babies just after midnight before she went to bed. Meanwhile, Vega allegedly took care of the twins overnight and claimed that they were being “fussy.”
Officers said that Vega put the babies to bed around 6 a.m., according to Law & Crime. The babies were still sleeping when Calderon woke up around 8 a.m. Vega later dropped Calderon off at work around 10:30 a.m., and the twins’ grandmother watched the babies during that time.
Police initially found that the twins had no significant injuries, though the affidavit stated that an autopsy later found that they were extremely malnourished and suffered traumatic injuries on three separate occasions. Additionally, it was determined that the twins were dehydrated.
While speaking to authorities, Calderon said that the babies were born prematurely and they were never taken to any checkup appointments with doctors.
One infant had contusions on their forehead, torso, feet and arms, as well as fractures on multiple ribs and their left femur. Meanwhile, the other infant had bruises to the forehead, arm, head, and clavicle as well as bilateral rib fractures. The injuries were all in different stages of healing, police said, meaning that they all happened during different incidents.
The affidavit stated that the medical examiner determined the twins died from multiple blunt force injuries, while the manner of death was listed as homicide. Vega and Calderon allegedly intentionally inflicted the injuries and should have sought medical care for the twins, detectives wrote.
18-Month-Old Girl Dies After Mother Poured Sleeping Medication Into Bottle
“This is a very, very tragic, very heartbreaking scene,” Houston Police Assistant Chief Patricia Cantu previously said of the incident while speaking to reporters in October 2023. “Obviously the family is devastated. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family.”
While Cantu said there was initially no evidence of physical harm, she explained that it is protocol for all infant deaths to be reviewed by a medical examiner.
Additionally, Cantu said the family was asking for privacy as they grieved the death of the babies.
Vega was initially charged with injury to a child in 2024, according to KHOU. Meanwhile, the capital murder charges were added later.
