Reginald Stacy, 35, and Lorie Angel Ramos, 27, are each facing a count of serious bodily injury to a child by omission and commission.
Stacy and Ramos are both in custody at the Harris County Jail.
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On Nov. 6, court records show the 1-year-old boy was taken to the hospital and suffered cardiac arrest twice. Doctors found severe injuries on the child, including what was believed to be cigarette burns around his eyes, a one to two-week-old healing fracture in his arm, and a spinal cord injury typically seen by "forces in a high-speed accident."
"This child was so unstable at the hospital that there was a possibility that this child might have died," Edward Appelbaum, an assistant district attorney in Harris County's Child Fatality section, said.
Based on his injuries, Appelbaum said it appears the child was tortured.
"I think there is a case to be made that they both could have inflicted those injuries," Appelbaum said.
"But let's say, for example, Mr. Stacy was the one who inflicted some of the injuries, and Ms. Ramos was living there. Even though she wasn't supposed to be living there, she's still this child's mother, so she still has a duty under the Texas Family Code to at least provide medical care to protect the child. She allowed Mr. Stacy to inflict these injuries and vice versa. Mr. Stacy might have just been a sitting participant and might not have inflicted those injuries, but he was aware that those injuries were being inflicted and sat there and did nothing and allowed a woman who is out on bond charged with murdering another toddler to live there," he said.
Ramos' mother was allegedly babysitting while Stacy was at work. She called 911 about 7:45 p.m. after noticing the child was suffering an emergency, documents allege. Stacy told investigators that he lost sight of the child's maternal grandmother during the chaos of the scene and did not know her whereabouts.
Stacy acknowledged to investigators, according to documents, that the child had injuries before the time that he left for work.
"Mr. Stacy is going to say these injuries are self-inflicted, and he claimed that the child would knock his teeth out himself somehow by hitting himself on the floor," Appelbaum said.
Records show Stacy told investigators he did not seek out medical care for the child's previous injuries because "he did not want to use the CPS insurance, and also stated that he knew if he sought medical treatment for the complainant's injuries, CPS and law enforcement would become involved again."
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Through the course of the investigation, the Houston Police Department learned that Ramos had been the primary caretaker of the child on the day of the medical emergency.
The 27-year-old had been court-ordered to stay away from Stacy, their children, and children in general as a condition of her bond in Harris County. Ramos was charged with murder for the August 2021 death of her and Stacy's 7-month-old son.
The child was found to weigh only 7 pounds and 14 ounces at the time of his death, according to court records. A doctor told investigators that the average weight at that age is 19 pounds. That child was also found to have a long list of severe injuries.
Initially, Ramos was charged with serious bodily injury to a child in March 2022. In late October of that year, she was also charged with murder in the case. The cases were assigned to the 230th District Court.
Records show that Judge Chris Morton lowered her bond from $250,000 to $40,000 on the murder charge in November of last year, and she posted it three days later.
Stacy told investigators that he lost custody of the 1-year-old during CPS' investigation into their other child's death but regained custody in February 2023.
CPS told ABC13 in a statement that they are investigating the abuse allegations and have removed the injured child and his siblings from the home. They have been placed in foster care.
They said that DFPS would take custody of the injured child once he is released from the hospital.
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Based on Ramos' mother's involvement on the day of the initial medical emergency, Appelbaum said there was a "concerted cover-up" to protect the 27-year-old mother.
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"There was a concerted cover-up really to absolve Ms. Ramos of any wrongdoing," Appelbaum said. "Mr. Stacy made it abundantly clear that he was the primary caretaker, (he) never indicated that Ms. Ramos was even around the children, and it wasn't discovered until CPS did some digging and later found out."
People living near the couple's north Houston apartment told investigators that Ramos had been residing there and seen tending to the children.
Appelbaum said they are continuing their investigation, and it is possible that Ramos' mother could potentially face charges in the case. He also said they could revisit the child's death in 2021 and file charges against Stacy. The prosecutor said the cases are similar.
Stacy's bond is set at $250,000. His appointed defense attorney, Harris Wood, told ABC13 over the phone that his client is a good father and partner to Ramos.
"Maybe he's not guilty of anything. However, sometimes prosecutions take on a life of their own, at least in the beginning stages," Wood said. "Once facts are developed, things can change drastically. He has the support of his family."
Ramos' bond has not been set in the new case, but a judge revoked it in her 2022 murder charge.
Ramos is expected in court on Monday.
ABC13 contacted her defense attorney for a comment, but we are still waiting to hear back.
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