DATE: October 27, 2023

CASE: Roberto Escobar-Montes (Case #22FE003076)

PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney Dinah Mielke, Special Assault & Child Abuse Unit

The Honorable Shauna Franklin sentenced Roberto Escobar-Montes to 6 years state prison. On September 1, 2023, Escobar-Montes was convicted by a jury of two counts of child endangerment with circumstances likely to cause death and the enhancement that the death of a child resulted from these circumstances.

On November 28, 2021, Escobar-Montes was at home taking care of his children.  He placed both of his babies (8-month- old Freyja and 2-year-old Eros) in the bathtub and turned on the water.  He left the room and began playing a pornographic video game in another part of the home, leaving the children alone in the bathtub for at least 12 minutes. When he stopped hearing Freyja, he came back to the bathroom and found she was floating face down in the tub which was ½ full of water. He grabbed the 2 year old, who was not drowning, out of the tub and turned off the water.  Only then did he grab Freyja and unplug the drain. Freyja was without a heartbeat for 90 minutes despite life-saving efforts. She died a few days later from her drowning injuries.