Christian T. Gonzalez and Destiny F. Rhoades (Vanderburgh County Confinement Center) and Octavia Aquino (Linda Alvarez/WFIE screenshot)
A 23-year-old Indiana mother and her 16-year-old “boyfriend” have been arrested and charged with killing the woman’s 4-year-old daughter, in what police have described as a “very disturbing case.”
Destiny F. Rhoades and Christian T. Gonzalez are both facing felony charges in the slaying of young Octavia Aquino, authorities announced.
Rhoades is facing one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death while Gonzalez is facing one count of murder. Gonzalez, who was originally charged with one count of battery resulting in serious bodily injury, made his initial appearance in juvenile court on Monday before his case was waived to adult court.
According to a news release from the Evansville Police Department, officers at about 9 a.m. on Friday, June 14, responded to an emergency call at a home in the 4500 block of Spring Valley Road in reference to a juvenile female who had stopped breathing. The caller — who was one of three other adult females who lived at the home with Rhoades, Gonzales and Octavia — told the emergency dispatcher that she found her roommate’s child unresponsive and “beyond help.”
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders described the little girl — later identified as Octavia — as being “cold to the touch.” The Evansville Fire Department arrived a short while later and began attempts to revive Octavia before transporting her to a local hospital.
When she got to the hospital, Octavia was still alive, but had “very little brain activity,” authorities said.
Rhoades was at work when her daughter was found, saying she left before 7 a.m. and Octavia was asleep. She and the three other females who lived at the apartment were brought to police headquarters for questioning. Gonzalez was not questioned due to his age.
“A roommate stated that she noticed the child had bruises on her body yesterday, specifically around her neck area,” the release states. “She also had a human bite mark on her forearm. Detectives were told the 16-year-old boyfriend admitted he bit the child, but only after she bit him first. A roommate reported that the child seemed to be ‘staring off and was nauseous’ while in Rhoades’ care last night. All three of these circumstances went unreported to law enforcement or medical staff during their occurrence.”
In the release, police referred to Gonzalez as Rhoades’ boyfriend five times, saying they came to Evansville together earlier this year when Gonzalez was 15 years old. Gonzalez had been reported missing from his home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was detained by police in Evansville in February. He was placed in a youth home which he immediately fled. When he was located again, police said he was with Rhoades at her home.
“He was placed at the Youth Care Center (YCC) and eventually transported back to Fort Wayne. Rhoades was arrested for Contributing to Delinquency of a Minor,” police said. “When she was released from jail, she returned to Fort Wayne until her pending court date, around April 11th. Her 16-year-old boyfriend went missing, again, around the time she returned to Evansville for court.”
Both Rhoades and Gonzalez are currently being held at the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center without bond.
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