LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – The 17-year-old father of a baby who died in December was found hanging from a tree in Lubbock over the weekend.
Lubbock police Sgt. Scott Farmer said Jerry Torres left a note explaining the reasons behind his death. Police did not provide details of the note. Torres was found hanging from a tree in an alley early Saturday.
Police had questioned Torres in December in the death of his 3-month-old son, Jeremiah.
Farmer said Torres was the sole caretaker for the child, who police believe was injured while in Torres’ care.
The cause of the child’s death has not been determined but an autopsy found he suffered internal cranial bleeding.
Police said that EMS workers responding to a call at an apartment Dec. 13 found Torres trying to perform CPR on the child. The baby, who stopped breathing, died two weeks later after being taken off life support.
Farmer said investigators now are waiting for the medical examiner to release Torres’ death certificate.
“Since he was listed as a primary person of interest for the offense, we will have to wait for a death certificate to confirm that Torres is the same person before we can close the report,” he said in a story in Monday’s online edition of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.