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Sheriff: Illegal Immigrant Charged With ‘Horrendous’ Manslaughter Of 3-Year-Old In Cantonment
March 6, 2026
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons has announced the arrest of a 28-year-old Cantonment man following the death of his 3-year-old nephew, describing the case as “horrendous and despicable”.
The suspect, Samuel Antonio Maldonado Erazo, is currently charged with negligent manslaughter, though Simmons indicated that more severe charges are being considered as the investigation continues The sheriff said Maldonado Erazo is in the country illegally.
The case began on Wednesday night, March 4 when deputies responded to a report of a 3-year-old in cardiac arrest in the 1900 block of Brentco Road. Despite the efforts of first responders, the child was pronounced dead.
The subsequent autopsy performed by the Medical Examiner’s Office revealed a harrowing pattern of physical trauma. Simmons reported that the child suffered from 17 separate strikes to the head, burn marks caused by a lighter being heated and pressed into the skin, multiple broken ribs, with one being completely detached from the backbone, a transected pancreas, which is a rare injury typically only seen in cases of extreme blunt-force trauma, and signs of possible sexual abuse and a broken collarbone.
“The injuries to the child are hard to talk about and even harder to imagine having to endure,” the sheriff said.
Investigators said the injuries were in various stages of healing, suggesting the child had been subjected to a cycle of violence over a significant period.
A Failure to Act
The Sheriff explained that the child ended up in the care of Maldonado Erazo after the boy’s mother and aunt were deported. Despite the child showing signs of “extreme distress” throughout the final day of his life, Maldonado Erazo allegedly failed to seek medical help, instead taking the boy to work with him until “the child declined to a state of cardiac arrest”.
Seeking Maximum Accountability
While the current charge is negligent manslaughter, Sheriff Simmons made it clear that the Sheriff’s Office is collaborating closely with the State Attorney’s Office to upgrade the charges.
“As I speak here today, that 3-year-old boy’s body lies at the county morgue,” Simmons said. “But he’s not there. He is pain-free in the arms of our Lord, and his killer, Samuel Antonio Maldonado Erazo…will answer for these crimes in this life and beyond.
Comments
3 Responses to “Sheriff: Illegal Immigrant Charged With ‘Horrendous’ Manslaughter Of 3-Year-Old In Cantonment”
“ The smell of DCF ; smells like defeat “ !
DO NOT DEPORT. PROSECUTE. SENTENCE ACCORDING TO LAW. After sentence is served. (if not executed, then deport)
How was this person not deported with the boy’s mother & aunt?????? Prayers for this little boy.