During heavy rains last month, floodwaters swept away a car carrying 2-year-old Xavier Padilla Aguilera and his father, separating them during a torrential fall that filled the streets of Barstow with mud and rain.
The boy's body was found hours later in the San Bernardino County flood control channel. The Barstow Police Department offered its condolences to his family in a statement confirming the boy's death, calling it a “tragedy.”
But on Tuesday, police announced they had arrested the young man's father, Brandon Padilla-Aguilera, on suspicion of murder.
Barstow police officials revealed few details about his case or what led detectives to suspect foul play in the 2-year-old's death. But, according to a statement, investigators with the Barstow Police Department continued to investigate Xavier's death after the floodwaters subsided.
“During the course of the month-long investigation, detectives spoke with witnesses and gathered evidence,” according to a police statement. “Based on the evidence obtained, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for him.”
During the storm on September 18, emergency crews were called around 7:14 p.m. to investigate a vehicle that had been swept away by flooding in the 24000 block of West Main Street in Barstow.
The vehicle, officials said, had been hit by rising water and swept into a creek north of West Main Street.
Padilla-Aguilera and her son reportedly got out of the car but, at some point, became separated.
Padilla-Aguilera was eventually found on an island created by the flooding, but emergency crews continued searching for more than 20 hours for the 2-year-old boy.
On Friday, Padilla-Aguilera was arrested. Authorities did not release details about what role he may have played in the boy's death.
Barstow police referred questions about the case to a Facebook post about the arrest.
County jail records indicate Padilla-Aguilera was booked on suspicion of murder with bail set at $1 million.
