Deputies were initially called to an apartment at 107 The Alameda around 12:15 a.m. Sunday for a report of a baby not breathing, San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor said in a news release. The toddler was neither alert nor breathing when they arrived.
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Taylor said the boy was taken to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
An investigation revealed that the child’s mother had woken up to find the suspect trying to strangle her, Taylor said. She fought back and he left the area in a Ford Fusion.
A 4-year-old child was present when the attack happened, but the 2-year-old child was missing from his mother’s bed, Taylor said. When he was found on a couch in another room, he was blue in color and appeared unconscious.
“Evidence on the child would tend to support he had been strangled to death,” the sheriff said.
A manhunt for the suspect – identified as Adrian Joseph Lujan – ended in Merced County, where he was arrested after a pursuit and a “physical encounter,” Taylor said.
Detectives obtained a confession from Lujan, Taylor added, but they have not yet established a motive.
“We mourn the loss of the beautiful child and will pursue justice for him and his family,” Taylor said.
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