"Happy baby. A happy baby boy. Everyone loves my baby boy," Noe Arriaga said, as he stood in the cemetery where he plans to bury his only child, Jace Lee Davis.
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"On the inside, I'm dying because I loved my baby boy to the fullest," he said.
Jace died on Saturday, just two weeks after turning 3 years old.
Investigators said Jace was found gagging inside a mobile home where he lived with his mother and her new boyfriend. First responders performed CPR at the boy's rural Liberty County home, all the way to a Kingwood emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.
SEE ALSO: Investigation underway after 3-year-old boy 'suspiciously' dies in Liberty County, sheriff says
Arriaga said he hadn't been able to see his son in several months.
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"She always said he was good. Even on her Facebook page, she said a couple of times that the baby's good. That he's fine. That everyone is fine. But apparently, not," he said.
The Liberty County Sheriff's Office is calling the little boy's death suspicious and told ABC13 the mother's boyfriend is a person of interest, after giving a statement that was inconsistent with evidence at the scene. However, no one has been named a suspect in his death.
When asked if he was ever suspicious of how his son was being treated, Arriaga said, "Of course. Of course. Every father does. Every father is worried about your kids when they're not with you."
He says he is angry with Child Protective Services for not doing enough, because CPS had been called earlier this summer regarding his son's welfare.
The agency sent ABC13 a brief statement saying:
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"Child Protective Services is investigating the boy's death alongside law enforcement. CPS does have history with the family, but specific details of case investigations are confidential under the law."
"Actually, last night, one of the CPS ladies, they called me at almost 10 p.m. saying she wanted to meet me (Tuesday) to talk about this situation. But I just said it's too late from y'all," Arriaga said.
Investigators say they are waiting for the child's autopsy results as they continue their investigation.
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