A four-year-old boy named Benjamin Cevera was seen on police bodycam footage with black eyes and his bones sticking out weeks before he died from starvation. The video, taken in July 2021, showed him looking hungry and scared during a welfare check at his home in San Antonio, Texas.
Known as Benji, he weighed just 28 pounds when he died less than a month later. Reports say that his family forced him to drink hand sanitizer and eat breadcrumbs from the floor of their bathroom without using his hands.
In the footage, Benji’s dad and stepmom, Miranda Casarez, claimed to the police that the boy had hurt himself and caused his visible injuries.
In a video from July 2021 shown to jurors, Benjamin Cevera looked hungry and scared.
His father Brandon Cevera, is seen in police bodycam footage standing next to his child in 2021
In the video, Brandon Cevera is seen telling the police that Benjamin pokes his eyes and ears. Miranda Casarez, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison for abusing Benji, added, “He has behavioral issues. He gets up at night and goes into the kitchen to eat.”
You can also see a piece of gauze stuck to one of Benji’s ears. Sadly, the little boy is shown repeatedly asking his father for food, but he is denied every time.
Benji was the only one in his family without a bed and had to sleep on a mattress with a blanket that was soaked in urine. He was often locked in his room, and the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets were padlocked to keep him from getting food, according to the San Antonio Express News.
The court also showed footage of Benjamin being interviewed alone by two police officers from San Antonio.
Benji was the only member of his family who did not have a bed. He was made to sleep on a mattress with a urine-soaked blanket
Brandon Cevera denies causing injury to a child and faces life in prison if convicted
Ex-wife Miranda Casarez has already been sentenced to 25 years behind bars
When shown his black eyes in the mirror and asked what happened, Benji replied, “I poked them.” Despite everything, the young boy was also seen smiling at the two police officers who came to check on him.
Officer Omar Perez, one of the officers who made the welfare call, told the court that Benji had visible injuries, including bruises on his eyes and body, and he looked very skinny with his bones showing.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) checked Benji’s vital signs and said they were normal. Officer Perez was instructed to call child protective services and fill out a report, which he believed would lead to an investigation into what was happening to Benji later.
Tragically, just 25 days later, Benji died, two months before his fifth birthday. There are now questions about why the police and social services did not help him.
Brandon Cevera denies hurting Benji and could face life in prison if he is found guilty. In early 2022, San Antonio police found cellphone footage showing Benji asking his dad for food and begging for food and water.
The trial is set to continue on Monday.
