A four-year-old child named James Dunklee Cruz was allegedly beaten to death in 2019 by his mother and her fiancé, according to KOB 4. 

James' mother, Krista Cruz, her fiancé, Zerrick Marquez, and a friend, Pamela Esparza, were all charged with his death.

The investigation into James' death revealed that the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD) covered up records pertaining to the child. 

"This was a four-year-old boy who showed up to an urgent care covered in bruises with a dislocated shoulder and bruises on his penis," Alex Crecca, an attorney representing James, said. "CYFD ignored that and sent him back to his mother so that he could be abused and tortured and eventually beaten to death.”

Records showed that the CYFD sent James back to live with his mother despite evidence of abuse. The caseworker who was assigned to the child told her supervisor about the injuries and recommended that CYFD take custody of James, but there was a delay in the process, KOB 4 reported.

The supervisor said that the caseworker would have to find James. In the time it took for the caseworker to find the child again – two months – he had been beaten to death at an Albuquerque apartment complex.

The caseworker testified that she was forced to change and delete her notes prior to putting the information into the CYFD database, according to KOB 4. She believes this was an attempt to protect the reputation of the department.