Tyruss "Ty" Toribio 3, killed/buried at New Mexico playground MOM arrested

[Nut44x4]

Death penalty not an option in baby playground burial

May 22, 2009, 7:04PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A single mother accused of suffocating her 3-year-old son and burying him at a playground will face life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder, prosecutors said Friday.

Tiffany Toribio, 23, was charged with first-degree murder, child abuse and other counts related to the May 13 death of her son, Tyruss “Ty” Toribio. His body was discovered two days later.

Lee Hood, a public defender representing Toribio, waived the charges in a court appearance Friday.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said no circumstances would qualify Toribio for the death penalty. She said the state’s law allows the death penalty in limited circumstances, such as cases of murdering a police officer or murder for hire.

The state had repealed that law for crimes committed as of July 1, replacing the death penalty with a life sentence without possibility of parole.

The district attorney’s office was evaluating whether other people could be charged for failing to report suspected child abuse.

Brandenburg said people have a duty to report suspected child abuse, though she acknowledged it was “a real gray area” and that no decision had been made.

Albuquerque police had said Toribio was recently homeless because she had been kicked out of her mother’s house and a friend’s apartment for ignoring her son.

Toribio’s sister said on Friday that the boy was doted on by family members, who she said were devastated by his mother’s alleged actions.

“The night Tyruss passed, the Tiffany we all knew and loved also passed with him,” Emily Apodaca said in a statement read at Calvary Chapel, where she is a member.

Apodaca described her sister as a loving mother but acknowledged that the family, which lives northwest of Albuquerque, had little contact with Toribio since August. Apodaca said she stopped speaking to her sister after Toribio got involved in a bad relationship.

“I don’t know what happened within this year to make her feel there was no one on her side, or that there was nowhere for her to turn,” Apodaca said. “Tyruss came into this world born to a lost and confused girl, but he changed her. She loved him more than life itself, and that’s the sad and devastating part of this.”

A public memorial for Ty will be held Tuesday. A private service is also scheduled.

Toribio remained jailed Friday on $250,000 bail. Prosecutors have until June 8 to take the case to a grand jury.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/6437787.html

[no rose colored glasses]

Thank-you for that article.

[Tracygirl]

The district attorney’s office was evaluating whether other people could be charged for failing to report suspected child abuse.

Brandenburg said people have a duty to report suspected child abuse, though she acknowledged it was “a real gray area” and that no decision had been made.

Gray area? Did I read that? They kicked her out because she was neglecting her son and now he is dead! Where is the gray area???? DA is wrong, wrong, wrong!

BTW, Her family seems very disfunctional

[Nut44x4]

Ty's body discovered Friday, May 15th
Ty's mother Tiffany Toribio, 23, arrested May 21st

So the semi-homeless (?), poor excuse for a mother and a human being had access to the internet

This profile is set to private
http://www.myspace.com/t_toribio 
~ALWAYS~ is at home
Female
23 years old
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico
United States
Last Login: 5/17/2009
Mood: happy (with a smiley face icon)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not sure about this one....
http://www.myspace.com/myangel1124
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is a facebook that looks kind of like her, but probably not?
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?k=100000080&id=1561657893&sid=063e72317334f98163ae0dc0838343d4

[MuffyBee]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PLAYGROUND_BODY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Jun 8, 9:30 PM EDT

Woman indicted in death of son in Albuquerque park

By HEATHER CLARK
Associated Press Writer
 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- A mother accused of suffocating her 3-year-old son and burying him in an Albuquerque playground was indicted Monday on murder and child abuse charges.

Tiffany Toribio, 23, is accused of killing her son, Ty, on May 13 as he slept on a climbing gym and then burying him in the sand.

Toribio was charged Monday with an open count of murder, child abuse resulting in death, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and concealing her identity. Her lawyer said she would plead not guilty.

Toribio is being held in a mental health unit at the jail, said Jeff Buckels, Toribio's defense attorney. Police said she attempted suicide hours after her arrest.

If convicted of the most serious charges against her, Toribio faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The boy's body was discovered when a mother playing in Albuquerque's Alvarado Park with her children saw the boy's shoe sticking out of the sand and called police after trying to pick it up and realizing it was strangely heavy.

Police worked for six days to identify the boy until an artist's rendition of him led to a tip that he was Toribio's son.

Hours after police publicized Toribio's photograph, they received a tip that she was on her way to the police station. When officers stopped her on the street, she at first denied who she was, police said.

In the days leading up to Ty's death, Toribio had been kicked out of her mother's home and a friend's apartment over concerns she was neglecting her son, police said.

Bernalillo County Attorney Kari Brandenburg said investigators must look at the credibility of conflicting accounts from those who knew Toribio before any decision can be made regarding charges for failing to report neglect.

"The child reportedly was very healthy, very well-nourished and looked well taken care of, so there has to be something really clear for them to report," Brandenburg said.