Mother stands idle as boyfriend fatally beats her son

A Texas mom and her former lover were found guilty for their roles in the brutal killing of her young son, whose remains were discovered in a secluded Colorado canyon in 2021.

According to an article in PEOPLE, Nickolle Aguilar, 28, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday, August 6. Bexar County prosecutors said that she had accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying against her former boyfriend. Her ex, Daniel Garcia, was convicted in May. His sentencing on August 14 was scheduled on related charges.

Prosecutors said Aguilar failed to "intervene in the physical abuse" or "seek adequate medical care" as Garcia abused her son, Domenic Patrick Aguilar-Acevedo, at a San Antonio extended-stay hotel in July 2021.

DA Joe Gonzales didn't mince words: "A parent's responsibility is to protect her child, but Domenic's mother said and did nothing as she watched her child die of abuse at the hands of her boyfriend," he said.

The court files paint a grim picture. On July 24, 2021, "Daniel struck the body of Domenic with such force that Domenic was thrown against a wall to the hotel room, and Domenic bounced off that wall before striking the floor," according to a summary provided by the investigators. Aguilar later told investigators she witnessed her son vomiting "and a short time later told Nickolle that Domenic had died," per the documents.

Surveillance footage showed Garcia carrying what appeared to be Domenic's lifeless body from their hotel room early on July 25. The couple then drove nearly 1,000 miles to Colorado, where they disposed of the body near Rocky Mountain National Park.

The pair continued to Costa Rica without reporting Domenic's death. After the couple fled to Costa Rica, Aguilar's worried mom managed to track them down. When her daughter couldn't explain where Domenic was, she called in the authorities.

It took authorities almost a month to find Domenic's body. On August 25, 2021, they recovered his remains from a steep ravine in Colorado. Court documents state the child "had been exposed to the elements and animal activity for almost a month." 

Aguilar admitted to witnessing multiple instances of abuse in the weeks leading up to Domenic's death. She told investigators she did not intervene because she was "too eager to be in a relationship with a man."

The couple was arrested separately in Florida in August 2021. Garcia's sentencing was scheduled for August 14, where he was sentenced to life in prison.