Missing Baby King Jay Davila Found Dead in San Antonio, Relatives Charged: Police

Missing Baby King Jay Davila Found Dead in San Antonio, Relatives Charged: Police
The San Antonio Police Department released this photo as they search for 8-month-old King Jay Davila, believed to be a victim of foul play. (San Antonio Police)
Jack Phillips
1/11/2019
Updated:
1/11/2019
The body of a missing 8-month-old child, King Jay Davila, was discovered after his father took investigators to a field near his neighborhood, reported KSAT.

Christopher Davila, King Jay’s father, took the child to the dead end of Castle Lance to show officials where the boy was buried. The location is less than one mile from Davila’s last known address.

He walked on a roadway overpass in a field where investigators dug up a black backpack with what appeared to be a baby’s body in a blanket, the Jan. 11 report said.

The father is now facing felony charges of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, evidence tampering, felony possession of a firearm, and possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance.

Davila said he told officials that the boy was kidnapped from his car in San Antonio, ABC News reported.

However, after surveillance footage was reviewed of the child’s alleged kidnapping, police determined the “staged” kidnapping was done to cover up “foul play,” according to police.

Christopher Davila, King Jay's father, took the child to the dead end of Castle Lance to show officials where the boy was buried. He's facing a litany of charges (San Antonio Police)
Christopher Davila, King Jay's father, took the child to the dead end of Castle Lance to show officials where the boy was buried. He's facing a litany of charges (San Antonio Police)

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the incident was a staged event “without a doubt.”

Davila, grandmother Beatrice Sampayo, and cousin Angie Torres were charged with evidence tampering. It’s a third-degree felony.

“We have statements from multiple witnesses that lead us to believe that King Jay is deceased,” McManus said Jan. 10. “We charged [Davila, Sampayo and Torres] with tampering with evidence because we believe that they participated in staging the kidnapping to hide King Jay’s body so we couldn’t find it to determine what happened to him.”

A relative told investigators that Davila “severely injured” the child, but more details were not released in news outlets.

Davila, 34, reportedly told police he was playing video games on Jan. 3 while King Jay sat inside a car seat on a bed in his room. At one point, the car seat fell over and sent the child to the floor, according to MySanAntonio.

He claimed that the boy may have hit his head on a dresser, according to an affidavit for his arrest, which was cited by the local news website.

However, instead of getting medical attention for the infant, he waited several hours before checking on King Jay before discovering the child died, officials said

“[Davila] stated he panicked and tried to keep [King Jay] awake as he was nodding off and was afraid to call 911, but knew he should have sought medical attention,” according to his arrest affadavit.

The child’s mother, Jasmine Gonzales, is also under investigation, officials said.

“Every parent out there, everyone understands, ‘How can someone do that to a child?’” McManus said on Jan. 10.

“This kidnapping was used as a ruse to cover up what we believe early on was foul play. What other purpose would you fake a kidnapping other than to hide something?”

According to reports, Davila has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for arson and assault.

Torres is also being held on an unrelated aggravated robbery charge, ABC reported

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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