LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – An arrest report obtained by FOX5 is revealing more about a suspect accused of killing his girlfriend’s one-year-old child.
On Saturday, June 1, officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to a call regarding an unresponsive one-year-old child. Upon arrival, the child was immediately transported to the Summerlin Pediatrics Emergency Room.
At the hospital, police interviewed Christian Moniz Rabino, who told officers that he was not the child’s father but had been in his life for the past six months. Rabino said he had initially called 911 due to the child “having trouble breathing and ultimately, stopping breathing.”
A primary doctor advised officers that the child had “bruising to his head”, “a fracture to his right leg”, and “needed to be sedated and placed on a ventilator,” according to the report.
When asked about the head and leg injuries, the child’s mother told officers that he had fallen off a bed while under the care of Rabino, but the incident was never reported.
During an interview with police, Rabino told police that the child had a seizure after fighting a fever and body aches since Tuesday, May 28. Two days later, Rabino told officers that he had found the child on the floor next to the master bed after briefly leaving him.
Rabino would also describe a later incident where he witnessed the child have a seizure following a bath. He told police that he “felt [the child] was dead.”
The mother of the child, identified as Tautiana, also told police that she had noticed swelling in the child’s right leg, but reaffirmed Rabino’s story of the child falling of the bed.
The biological father of the child would also speak to police and told them that the child had never had a seizure while in his care but would often “tense up and clench his fists” when upset.
Hospital staff would inform police of several additional internal injuries found, and that the likelihood of “non-accidental trauma” was high in this case.
The child would be taken off life support on June 4.
An autopsy would revealed several internal brusies, including on the forehead, left ear, behind the left ear, on the left rib area, and knees. Broken bones were also located in each of the child’s legs and hands. The doctor conducting the autopsy did not confirm the cause or manner of death, but did tell officers that he believed abusive trauma to be the cause.
Officers would interview a doctor of Ophthalmology, who would say the injuries seen in the child were consistent with “shaking back and forth” and that it was “one of the worst cases he had seen.”
Another doctor would note that the injuries seen in the child were not consistent with a fall from a bed, which Rabino had initially claimed.
A close friend of Tautiana’s also told police that she had once heard one of Tautiana’s children call her while riding in the car, to say, “Mom, Christian hit my brother.” Though, the friend was not able to hear Christian’s response as the call was not on speaker phone.
The friend would also note seeing brusies on Tautiana, who would only respond “I don’t know” when asked about them.
Officers noted that Rabino would not cooperate with a follow-up interview, per his attorney’s advice. Though, Tautiana would admit that she did believe Christian may have hit the child, but did not know for sure, as he had only “put his hands on her” thus far.
She would also admit that she witness Rabino shake her child when he became frustrated that the child would not stop crying.
Following the request of a warrant, Rabino was taken into custody on charges of murder and child abuse.
He is due for a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, August 7.
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