Parents Plead No Contest, Sentenced for Murder and Torture after Initial ‘Drowning’ Claim

Following an initial claim by their parents that their son drowned in July 2019, Jose Maria Cuatro Jr. And Ursula Elaine Juarez have been sentenced for his murder and torture after pleading no contest to these charges last month. The four-year-old boy’s death was originally reported as a drowning incident at the family pool located in Palmdale, California. After being taken first to Palmdale Regional Medical Center and then to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where he eventually passed away the next day due to severe blunt force trauma including internal injuries to his brain and multiple rib fractures.
The investigation into Noah’s death revealed that he had been subjected to abuse by both of his parents, with one sibling stating in court documents that they were often hungry as a result. Another witness testified about observing their father punching another brother when the child was an infant and hitting him with a belt. The siblings also reported frequent fights between their parents which left them scared of their dad’s violent behavior towards his children.
The three surviving siblings have since been taken into protective custody, prompting Noah’s great-grandmother Evangelina Hernandez to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Los Angeles County on behalf of herself and the other minors involved in this case. The suit alleges that despite multiple reports of abuse being made to DCFS over several years, they continued placing the children with their abusive parents instead of protecting them from harm.
Following Noah’s passing, social workers at DCFS reportedly threatened Hernandez not to make any public statements about her great-grandson’s case or potential lawsuits as it would result in losing custody of other family members and never seeing them again. Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services has also been named a defendant in the civil lawsuit, accused by Hernandez’s lawyers of failing to report suspected abuse after sending Noah for mental health services via DCFS referral.
DCFS previously released an official statement regarding this case stating that they serve over 34,000 families and vulnerable children at any given time with a strong commitment towards safeguarding the welfare of these individuals in their communities every day. They also emphasized that all employees are dedicated to fulfilling this mission by pursuing child safety on an ongoing basis.