Here is how investigators uncovered the death of Jayden Alexander Lopez, of Houston:
Oct. 20, 2017
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- Three to five-year-old boy found dead on a Galveston beach.
Oct. 21, 2017
- Autopsy conducted on child, who showed signs of malnourishment and abuse.
Oct. 22, 2017
- Investigators release a sketch of "Little Jacob."
Nov. 6, 2017
- Galveston P.D. and the FBI offer up to $10,000 reward for information. Investigators believe family members of the boy may have made excuses for his disappearance around Oct. 18.
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Jan. 30, 2018
- Authorities said they believed he died about October 17-18, 2017, and was put into the water in the Galveston County area.
March 8, 2018
- FBI agent received a tip that "Little Jacob" is believed to be the son of Rebecca Rivera, who had not been seen by the tipster for some time.
The tipster revealed overhearing a conversation in which Rivera and girlfriend Daria Amezquita Gomez said they had been living in Chicago since October 2017, and that the couple returned to Houston to attend a function.
April 4, 2018
- Galveston County Sheriff's deputies made contact with Diana Amezquita, sister of Daria, and learned that Rivera told her that her son is staying with family members.
April 5, 2018
- Deputies tracked down Rivera and Gomez at the apartment of a friend in Houston. The person who lived in the unit told authorities the pair asked if they could "stay for a little while."
Inside the apartment, Rivera told deputies her son, Jayden Lopez, had been kidnapped but refused to share any additional information about his whereabouts.
Gomez provided a statement to the FBI, in which she said she believed Jayden was staying with Rivera's family and had not been seen in six months. Four days prior to giving the statement, Gomez told investigators her brother said the boy was dead. After confronting Rivera, Gomez alleges her girlfriend said her son had been kidnapped and she would have to explain what happened to law enforcement.
April 12, 2018
- After obtaining a warrant, a DNA swab is taken from Rivera and a blood card from the body of Little Jacob.
April 26, 2018
- An FBI lab worker told deputies Rivera is "49 million times more likely to be the mother of Little Jacob than any unrelated person."
May 3, 2018
- Evidence collected from the Harris County Toll Road Authority shows an Isuzu Rodeo registered to Rivera passed through the westbound Beltway 8 toll booth at the S. Wayside exit ramp on October 19, 2017. A photograph taken of the vehicle shows what appears to be Rivera in the driver's seat. Gomez, meanwhile, appears to be photographed in the passenger seat.
May 16, 2018
- Gomez, who is being held at an ICE detention center in Harris County, claimed she was too drunk to remember the trip.
Deputies tell Gomez they believe she and Rivera were photographed in the Isuzu Rodeo on their way to Galveston, where they dumped Jayden's body.
June 19, 2018
- Rivera tells deputies at her friend's apartment where she was staying that Jayden bumped his head into a wall two weeks before his death, injuring his head. The child's mother said she used alcohol to clean the injury on Jayden's head.
During an argument with Gomez, Rivera claimed she spilled alcohol all over Jayden's face. His face allegedly swelled up and over the course of the next two weeks, her son's health deteriorated as he complained of stomach aches.
On the last day of his life, Rivera said her son was lethargic. After he died, Rivera placed the boy's body in her vehicle and drove to Galveston with Gomez and her 3-year-old child.
Rivera allegedly said she chose to place Jayden's body in the water because "she had previously taken him to the beach and that he liked the water."
The boy's mother allegedly told investigators signs of abuse found on the child's body were marks from a clothing hanger she used to beat him when she was stressed out, among other items.
June 20, 2018
- In a press conference, authorities identified the name of the deceased child as 4-year-old Jayden Alexander Lopez from Houston.
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Police arrested Rivera and her girlfriend, Gomez, who also both live in Houston.
Rivera has been charged with tampering or fabricated physical evidence, a felony. She is being held on $250,000 bond.
Gomez has been charged with a misdemeanor. She is being held on a $100,000 bond.