were you home when this incident happened was she home or no you're definitely home cuz I I don't want to catch you in a lie no did you hear a snap would you hear pop I suffered what did you do by the head and smash into the in the second time at 5:30 p. m. on March 14th 2011 staff at St Luke's hospital in Jacksonville Florida were faced with a harrowing situation 2-year-old David galaraga arrived at their facility limp and unresponsive he required immediate and Specialized Care but his mother's explanation about what happened left Hospital staff with more questions than answers were his injuries the result of a terrible accident or was there a more disturbing story behind David's condition police Rec called as a precaution and began interviewing the family to better understand what happened soon a tring case filled with lies and half truths would unfold one so unfathomable that it would launch a landmark case in Florida's criminal justice system as the toddler received Medical Aid police brought his mother bonella Susanna and his elder brother 12-year-old Christian Fernandez to the station to dig deeper into what really happened to 2-year-old David the following footage has mostly never been seen before because David and Christian were minors the police police station has made redactions to the footage before I talk to you I'm just going to go over a few things with you okay um these are called your constitutional rights and I know you're you're 12 years old right when your birthday okay so you turn 12 13 oh you're 13 now mhm oh okay so you're 13 years old I'm 12 and yeah that's why I'm saying you're 12 okay okay all right so so I want to um explain these to you to where you can understand them as investigators chat with Christian they know his age may prove to be a challenge still because they're questioning him they read him as rights in Florida police can question children without their parents permission and they can also do so without contacting their parent or Guardian a child can always refuse to be questioned which is why the officers are careful to explain what each statement means if it can be proven later that Christian didn't fully understand his rights what he reveals in this interview may not be admissible in court and I just need you to sign here that you understand him you have nice cursive my son's working on his while the investigator works on building rapport with Christian more Det details from the mother and Son's initial interview at the hospital come in according to police reports bonella showed a surprising lack of emotion when doctors explained the gravity of David's injuries at the hospital instead she apparently told police she had been through worse but once she's brought in for questioning the reality of the situation appears to hit her a bit harder he suffered as police questioned bonella they soon realized that something might be missing from her story but nothing would prepare them for the appalling information she was holding back so um tell me tell me a little bit about tonight I understand that um were you home when this incident happened what time did all this occur a little bit after 4 after 4: okay and who was home when this happened everybody was home how long after did you know about the incident when he called me okay when he called you on the phone no in the house okay according to biella Christian ran into the room for help after David Fell from the top of his bunk bed when B andella rushed to his side she found David unresponsive so when did you immediately run in there mhm and what' you say so I put like some ice okay when police took a closer look at the family's two-bedroom apartment they found a grizzly scene in the bedroom shared by the three eldest children they discovered a blood stain on the carpet next to a school backpack along with more blood and vomit throughout the bedroom baby wipes and a diaper were found on the bottom bunk bed along with red stains on blankets pillows and the floor additional stains were found on the cabinet and shower curtain in the bathroom David's injuries don't look good and the more information the police can give the doctors the better this means they must rely heavily on the only witness Christian and tonight you guys were in your room just you and David uh was your other brother and sister in there mhm so all yall no I think it was Jo just y'all too mm okay what was your mom doing when this happened I don't I don't I don't know okay maybe I'm driving was she home or no I'm not sure where she was tell me tell me a little bit about tonight I understand that um were you home when this incident happened while biella originally claimed that she was in the kitchen during David's fall Christian's version of events didn't even Place her in the apartment he then recalled what happened in the moments after David Fell explaining that he laid his brother on the bottom bunk while he tried to get help and then I called myom and what' you tell her that he however this is once again a different story making it unclear what actually happened to David initially Bella told investigators at the hospital that Christian was flipping through TV channels with David just before the incident occurred in this brief moment of distraction David climbed to the top of Christian's 5- foot two bunk bed ladder but the ladder suddenly shifted out of place causing David to fall to the floor and hit his head and then what did she do when she came home she you know and then she went to the hospital I clean him and Chang his clothes was she crying mhm so what time do you think you called her um like almost like 8 minutes after and how long did it take her to get home um a couple minutes in light of this new information detectives press Bella to see if she changes her story to match the one Christian is now telling and you were home okay you're definitely home cuz I I don't want to catch you in a lie cuz there's no reason to lie about something that you don't need to lie about I'm going to ask you again were you home when this occurred well I had gone to the bank okay were you home when this occurred no okay um so you weren't in the kitchen when this happened no okay so you screwed up when you said he called me he he called you on the phone and you were at the bank who was with you I was by myself sure enough biella backpedals she had in fact left her 12-year-old son alone and in charge of his three siblings as a single mother of four children she often relied on her eldest Christian to help keep the household running smoothly so he called you and how long did it take you to get home I went right away I mean I went to the ATM and then afterwards I went back back home when B andella returned home she found the same scene she described to investigators earlier her 2-year-old boy unconscious but this time Christian reveals another shocking element that stuns the detectives so did you said that she got on the computer before she went mhm to the hospital no she was on the on the phone on the computer okay you know what she was looking at no um maybe like a hospital to go oh okay so how long were you guys at home before you left to go to the hospital about 40 minutes 40 minutes police are stunned instead of calling 911 or rushing her unconscious child to the hospital bonella decided to wait it out and see what happened once 2-year-old David did arrive at the hospital his condition was so Bleak that he was airlifted to another for Specialized Care all it took was one look at David for the medical staff to know something wasn't right about this bunk bed story I didn't away because after my husband passed away like they they assigned me to a case worker and um the case worker comes and monitors everything right and I'm like okay I already have a case worker if they think that I'm doing something bad to one I have three other ones that depend on me and I don't want them taken away from me bonella was only 11 years old when she became pregnant with Christian according to court documents her mother allegedly struggled with substance use after Christian was born the three reportedly moved in and out of strangers homes and hotels before settling in a trailer with no electricity or running water when Christian was just two authorities found him wandering naked through a parking lot in the early hours of the morning while his grandmother was supposedly in charge of of him she was charged with child neglect after they found her in a nearby hotel room allegedly intoxicated inside investigators found cocaine and Christian's baby bottle which was infested with worms bonella and Christian then entered foster care together when she was only 15 years old and where Christian was allegedly assaulted by two boys eventually at 18 beella married Luis galaraga Blanco and together they had three children including David she GRE recently lost her husband but the police had yet to uncover the Sinister circumstances surrounding his untimely death these family Dynamics aside the present situation was Dire David's life was hanging by a thread and his mother had chosen to wait rather than seek help for him police continue to turn up the heat on biella hopeful that she might slip up so when you got home you saw knocked out as you said right knocked out in the bed on the bunk on the bottom then did you see anything knocked over in the room or any blood anywhere um I saw a little bit of blood on the floor okay where at on the floor um let's say like the stairs were here MH and the blood was like okay so kind of in front of the stairs M okay did that worry you yes it it did worry me but it it worried me more the fact that you know they're going to think that I didn't so you got on the computer mhm for what to check like you know what causes unconsciousness and how long is somebody supposed to stay unconscious and if they you know if they they could just wake up from that I I just don't understand I understand you you have a problem with DCF you thinking that they're going to take your kids away but um I I don't understand why you didn't call 911 safety's first I know safety first but like I read online that unconsciousness happens when your brain shifts from position from a head injury given her two recent encounters with Florida's Department of Children and Families also known as DCF it was evident that bonella was already walking on thin ice yet the choice to endanger her child's life to avoid another intervention was just plain shocking was this truly the only reason or was there something else hidden beneath all these excuses and I was like okay it's going to Shi back to its right place and but most people wouldn't even think about going online they would think about oh my God I got to call 911 and then 91's going to kind of direct you what to do on the phone until rescue gets there you know I came up here with nothing I rented an apartment and you know have enough I have a roof over their head and I feed him and I take care of them very good you know better than if I was with my ex-husband well let's talk about let's talk about Mery good when David arrived at the hospital a head injury wasn't his only injury his left leg was also set in a blue cast that extended from his hip all the way down to his foot in January broken leg right and how did that happen according to a January DCF report biella explained she was inside her apartment when Christian came bursting through the front door holding David in his arms she said the boys had just been playing together at the apartment playground right outside her front door oh I wasn't there I was inside the house who was there all the children everybody everybody else was there do they play unsupervised do I live I open the window and I look at them but you're not watching them but I'm not out there so you're not watching them you just have the window open so someone hear the whole time yeah so then if you watched them the whole time you would see what happened well I wasn't with my eyes on them the whole time but I that's what I'm saying you don't watch him the whole time mhm bonella had said that David broke his leg when he accidentally fell from the monkey bars but there was one small problem with her story the apartment playground had no monkey bars when police go through the DCF reports they also find several other inconsistencies first Bella tells investigators the story about David's fall from the monkey bars then perhaps to avoid being caught in a lie she recalled the incident as a fall from the jungle gym Bella's sister later told police another story this one was that 2-year-old David was jumping from swing to swing when he fell and broke his leg in any case things aren't looking good for biella and it only got worse when Christian revealed an entirely different version of events you said before um in January he he got hurt right mhm and he had broken his leg Little David and how did he break his leg in January by Yoga Yoga in what room were you guys in in in were you watching that on TV or something no where' you see that at in a book in where in a book in a book you still have that that book no who else was in the room when that happened me and him just y'all two mhm where was your mom at I think he she was taking my brother to school not only does Christian's story not align with his mother's but once again bonella was nowhere to be found when the injury took place and um did someone from D Department of Children and Families contact to you to my mom yeah and US yeah and what did you tell them what happened now he fell off your an was Christian has once again allegedly lied for his mother now the detective has no choice but to confront bonella about the playground stories and how David actually broke his leg but that's not really what happened with it what do you mean I'm asking you I I need you to be honest cuz you're only going to hurt yourself in the long run okay that's not what happened is it just like you weren't home today when it happened that's not what happened is it he was my son mhm and what did he do he said he he was rested in a shocking twist beella now appeared to be blaming Christian for David's Grievous injuries she then explained that initially she wasn't convinced David's leg injury was serious and at first that detectives let her play that story out but they know something about the timeline of this injury that bonella hasn't mentioned yet but then I heard like when people break bones they can't stand the pain they're just screaming and crying from the pain even when you touch it so I I didn't think that but him being 12 he would be capable of breaking anything cuz he's he's he's a he's a kid I mean anybody could be capable when they're 11 12 years old why did you but I was scared that they were going to take him away I mean he stole my son even though he did that I like you know I thought that by me talking to him and me me being on top of him and just you know me making him realize what what he had done and I took him to the hospital with me he was in the hospital with me the whole time watching you know the pain that they was going through this this is what I don't understand about that though I understand as a mom you know you don't want you're son to get in trouble for something that he probably didn't mean to do right am I right okay I can understand that I mean I got three kids but this is what I don't understand about that you wait two days hospital I didn't think he he was capable of breaking anything I thought it was just swollen oh it was crying police look to Christian to help them fill in the blanks and what he shared this time changes the trajectory of the case yet again he was sitting like this and then how did you do his Al so we can understand what happened like this uh then what else did you do with his little leg like this I'm not so you weren't trying to hurt him no it was an accident but I didn't know his phone was going to break yeah I cuz I was doing two you doing can you do that can you do that that's what you were trying to do mhm can you do it no just show me again what you do okay oh okay did you hear a snap or something what do you mean like a s yeah when he broke his leg did you hear it snap leg a crack did you hear it pop all sort of yeah and what happened there he started and then I stopped so how long was it before your mom got home do you remember a couple like minutes as it turns out David had a remarkably severe injury one doctor who cared for the 2-year-old said his double fracture was the worst broken he'd seen on a toddler how long did he cry from her long time mhm that probably Hur him really bad huh little did the detectives know something far worse is right around the corner so you know your son did that in January you lied you you did you told him to tell a lie to DCF didn't you yeah so you told him to lie you lied um you lied to us um you lied to DC I'm just trying to and I understand you I understand why you lied in the beginning because you don't want your son to get in trouble for something he didn't mean to do I guess correct but then you told him to lie and then you lied and just got all out of hand and don't you think it just been easier just to tell DCF my son didn't was an accident no cuz it wasn't easy for me to tell DCF and look where I am now isn't that easy based on conversations with hospital staff police are extremely ly skeptical that the first story they are told about David's head injury is the truth detectives circled back to the events leading up to the injury as they continued to question bonella once again her story wavered but this time the details she changed to leave her toddler's life hanging in the balance earlier she told police she took David to the hospital 40 minutes after making it back home from there her estimation of the time it took slowly expands and you waited for how long 40 minutes you said you sure it was only 40 minutes about an hour but it was about that time okay cuz I mean what time did they get the call okay next she says it's 1 hour and then it's closer to two it was also eventually revealed that while David was unconscious and fighting for his life instead of calling 911 Bella told Authority she called a pediatrician once but gave up when she was put on hold her interrogation ended soon after but the most damning of evidence was yet to be revealed Christian was seemingly honest about the events behind David's broken leg so detectives are hopeful he'll be forthcoming a second time tell me what happen okay you're almost there by now it's the early morning hours of March 15th the police were called out on the evening of March 14th and Christian's been up the entire night talking to the detective his exhaustion is evident St is not feeling too good right okay he deserves for you to tell us the truth I just have to be honest everything's going to be okay you know to be scared the doors open and we're just sitting here just me and you so you don't have to be scared to be scared I want to I want to be able to tell everybody that you you tell the truth about things it's okay I'm not angry with you or mad at you or anything like that we just need to know the truth at this point the detectives are well aware that Christian comes from a background of violence in fact just 3 months before David's leg injury Christian endured a hellish ordeal involving alleged aggression and violence at the hand of his late stepfather Louis galaraga Blanco according to court documents in October of 2010 Christian's mother was called to his middle school when staff noticed his face was red and swollen by the time she arrived police and DCF investigators were questioning him he alleged his stepfather punched him in the face his injuries were so severe that he needed surgery to repair a torn retina as an ambulance whisked Christian way a stunned bonella reportedly called her husband for answers Lis then took his own life in front of their three kids allegedly when he discovered police were on their way to arrest him for suspected violence against a child their daughter no more than 4 years old at the time answered the door when police knocked David was also found in a nearby bedroom reportedly shaking and covered in blood some of Christian's behavior when left alone displays the kind of violence he may have been subjected to what so tell me tell me what really happened tonight I put him to carry books you put him to carry books mhm okay what kind of books like the books have in our bookshelves are they big books or little books like a bunch of skinny books so he was carrying them mm is he walk good that one cast i t be told one and normal work with Okay so he had books in his arms mhm and then what happened and then they fell on him they fell on him as he was caring as he Wasing where they on him on his like on his head how did they fallstead of people car Christian changed the story yet again but detectives still haven't uncovered the horrific truth and like this he was killing cuz he doesn't know how to carry away okay so then what else happened and then they fell on home and then he fell okay what else happened toight cuz the cuz remember we said um so he had his arms up like this mhm with the books mhm and then the books fell mhm and what did what did you see the books fall on on his face and okay well you know um this side of his head is really injured up with a lot of bruising and swelling MH so and his nose is really swolled up so um it had something else happened that night tonight besides Just Books falling so tell me about what else happened at after that happened I I was him anymore okay so so he never fell off the bunk bed no Okay so um he already hit his head on the bed so did you um do anything for him to make him hit his head what do you mean like I pushed him yeah did you push him tonight to the bed no did you you do anything for his head to hit anything tonight well we were just caring books and then it fell on him right and what else happened and then and and then I took all the books away from him and then he was sleeping well he didn't get those head injuries just from books that's not the truth Christian is it it's okay I just I just need to know the truth you know I know it's hard to tell the truth cuz you you you know I know you said earlier it's it's hard to tell the truth is that what your mom's going to tell me that's not what your mom's going to tell me is okay he's that really really bad head inury so if you could tell me how he got that it would be really helpful for him and for us and then the truth will be known and and you don't have to worry about hiding that in your in inside anymore what are you scared of you just scared of telling me I know I can see it did your mom do something to David when Christian doesn't budge on his story the detective tried a different approach and the results are more shocking than she could have anticipated did you push him down what did you hit him with did you hit him with something on his head no so what happened happened what happened to the side of his head I pushed them against a bookshelf why'd you push them are you angry about something yes what were you angry about my St did to me oh you step did to you is that what you said why were you angry about that tonight cuz I was thinking about how many times did you push him into the into the Shelf twice how did you you want to like say this is the Shelf can you show me with the doll how you push him into Shell by so show me with the doll how you like push it okay so you push him with your hand mhm into the Shelf is that all that happened tonight mhm though the invest Ator is saying tonight they would soon discover that this wasn't quite accurate David wasn't injured in the evening as they previously thought he was actually injured hours earlier sometime in the morning so how did all the blood get everywhere in the room cuz I was dragging him to his bed so you dragged him to the bed M why actually he carried him okay to what bed to my brother's the bottom bu mhm okay who carried him to the bottom Bo and where was he bleeding from from his anywhere anywhere else nice his mouth his mouth is bleeding mhm okay did you call your mom as soon as it happened or did you just wait for her to come as soon as it happen I realized what I done when B andella returned home that morning she found David bleeding from both nostrils after she cleaned his face she loaded her children into the car David remained unconscious she dropped the others off at school instead of heading to the hospital she then returned to her apartment where David lay unresponsive for the entire day but this was just the beginning of David's torment from here the story takes an even more disturbing turn and so you picked him up I carried him and I put him in the back how'd you carry him did you carry him like this or how' you yeah like like nor like this are you cared about your shoulder mhm you would probably have you'd probably have blood on your shirt if that was that shirt huh cuz he was bleeding out of his nose and you carried him over your shoulder right mm so it wasn't that sure was it I'm not I'm not sure how I car him but but I know I car him by my shoulder or like in front of me okay so you just carried him right away to the bed is that what you did like trast M okay um and then after you got on the bed what did you do I thought about what I did after dro in the children at school and returning home and while David was grievously injured and clinging to life be andella casually surfed the internet at 10:54 a.
m. she searched the phrase when someone gets knocked out followed by how to wake someone from a concussion by 2:15 p. m.
she was looking up when you're unconscious for hours in between searches she added money to her phone plan searched for screen savers logged onto YouTube and downloaded music allegedly she even made time to look up celebrity gossip nobody else touched him or hurt him no it was just do you feel better about telling me what happened no you don't feel better was that the truth what you told me mhm this time yeah what do you think your mom's GNA say she's just going to be upset for everybody huh she'll be upset for you too the invest Ator asked Christian one last time if he alone hurt David perhaps in an attempt to resolve any lingering suspicions she may have and rightly so up until now biella hasn't had the greatest track record for honesty but the detective would soon find the most disturbing details of David's story had yet to be revealed did you know what you did was wrong mhm how did you I mean I felt bad cuz then I realized what I actually done cuz I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing when I pushed him I was just thinking about my St okay and then when you realize what you done and you said you felt bad what did you feel bad about cuz about what I did I don't what was going to happen later to him or to you to him I wasn't worried about me you were at some point though that's why you lied right well I was worry did your mom tell you to say anything different when like to but she didn't know it was it was me that didn't right while there's at least one documented case of such violence that bonella agrees to other sources suggest that Christian may have endured his stepfather's alleged violence for as long as 5 years can ask you question mhm why did you push him twice why' you push him two times I don't know I don't know I don't even know why I pushed them from the start authorities are left to confront bonella with The Awful Truth this this wasn't an accident Christian did it what do you how how did you do it he got mad and um he took by the head and smack into the twice into the bookshelf did you cry first time and then you pushed him again going to stop crying he said the first time he hit it was crying and the second time he did it out and unconscious and that's when he car to the bed and when he knew that he he did something really bad and he and he and he said he he lied to you about it so I know you you didn't know I know you didn't know anything else you want to tell me about tonight or is that all I need to tell the doctors if he hasn't woke out um he's still sleeping his brain started swelling like bigger or smaller bigger mhm so it touches his brain um yes I guess when um when his head hit the shell it caused some swelling without knowing it Christian makes an important Revelation about his ability to comprehend what's happening the average 12-year-old would likely understand the concept of swelling but Christian asked the detective to explain what it means this request is a potential red flag for Christian being cognitively behind his peers and the the doctor say if he was going to make it um they said that um that um they're hoping that he's going to wake up if he doesn't wake up that means he that he has to make he didn't made it yeah he doesn't wake up that means doesn't make it but as soon as the detective leaves Christian alone he says something horrid David he got he said he he just got mad tonight and he snapped and now the thinkable is the outcome of the situation but I didn't tell him what the doctors told you according to hospital staff and police reports David was only alive because he was on life support requiring a ventilator to breathe his injuries were both extensive and horrific his neck rested inside a protective brace his skull was fractured and his nose was broken and bloody his right forarm was injured and possibly fractured David had swelling and redness in both eyes with a bruise under his left eye he had a contusion on his right hip a hematoma above his right ear and a bruise on the right side of his forehead hopeful that they may squeeze out any more lingering details detectives encouraged bonella to talk with Christian At first she refused but they eventually convince her to see him Christian Christian hey buddy I know you're tired sweetie you all right your mama wants to talk to you you okay little wob I know it's late baby if you could talk English it' be better okay what did you do tell me what you doing what you do tell me what show didn't you think that was going to HT why would you do something like that after biella sent her Sun away police find one final bombshell to unearth Bella's search records show that finally at 3:07 p. m. hours after the head injury she looked up the hospital where she would later bring David after she picked her other three children up from school presumably with David and toe she returned to her apartment once again David didn't arrive at the hospital until 5:30 p.
m.
