Warning: This story contains graphic details of alleged child abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.
DENVER — Court documents obtained Thursday outline the investigation into the parents of a Denver infant who died after he was burned with scalding water days before Christmas.
According to court documents, Jaylyn Vigil, 30, and Tony Vigil, 33, brought their 2-month-old son, TJ, to Presbyterian Saint Luke's Hospital in Denver around 2 a.m. on Dec. 16, 2023, with severe burns to 40% of his body. Due to the severity of the burns, TJ was taken to Children's Hospital in Aurora.
Jaylyn and Tony told the medical staff that TJ had a blowout, or explosion of poop, around 1:20 a.m. while at their Denver apartment. Tony, the father, decided to give TJ a bath to clean him off, but when he started to dry the infant, he noticed "[TJ's] skin was peeling off from his fingertips and his skin had discoloration," according to the arrest affidavit. Tony woke Jaylyn, who called a nurse line. Jaylyn, the mother, was told to bring TJ in or call 911.
Jaylyn told medical staff she thought TJ suffered a chemical burn because they used a new lavender Johnson & Johnson shampoo. Medical staff determined that the infant's burns were more consistent with thermal burns that could have been caused by hot water.
The parents told a social worker at Children's Hospital that they bathed TJ at 1:20 a.m. using a baby bath inside a bathtub. Tony stepped out of the room, and the social worker spoke with Jaylyn alone.
According to court documents, Jaylyn told the social worker they used a whale thermometer to measure the temperature of the water, which read 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The affidavit describes a whale thermometer as "a plastic whale-shaped thermometer used to check if the water is too hot or cold for infants." The mother said she felt the water with her fingertips and determined it was lukewarm. Twenty minutes later, TJ started to get red and his cheeks swelled up, according to Jaylyn.
The social worker then spoke with Tony alone. The father reported that he woke up around 1:20 a.m. and gave TJ tummy time before bathing him. Tony said he felt the water with his fingers and determined it was lukewarm. Tony told the social worker that Jaylyn was in the bedroom during the bath. According to court documents, the father said he used gloves to wash TJ and used a new soap.
Medical staff performed a CT scan on TJ and found he was suffering from a bilateral brain injury. Due to the severity of the burns inside his mouth, the child had to be intubated through his nose, the affidavit states.
Due to the inconsistent stories from the parents, the social worker notified the Denver Police Department around 2:05 p.m. on Dec. 16. Officers and a Denver Human Service case worker responded to Children's Hospital nearly four hours later and learned the parents were no longer at the hospital. Court documents state authorities tried several times to reach Jaylyn and Tony with no answer. The caseworker finally got a hold of Tony and informed the father he and Jaylyn should come back to the hospital. Tony told the case worker he had to work, according to the affidavit, but said Jaylyn would return to the hospital.
Tony spoke with the case worker via phone and said he bathed TJ due to a blowout around 1:20 a.m. Court documents state the father said he used a new soap and checked the temperature of the water with his fingers. He did not report using a thermometer to test the water. Twenty minutes later, while drying the infant, TJ "turned red, and his cheeks swelled up," Tony told the caseworker. The father said he called 911 and an ambulance was sent, according to the affidavit. He also told the caseworker he worked at a well-known Denver nonprofit and was currently on-call.
Officers then spoke with Jaylyn at the hospital and informed her they needed to take photos of their apartment. The affidavit states that Jaylyn said she needed to speak with Tony and asked to use the restroom. The mother "occupied the restroom for a long period of time," according to court documents. When she came out, she asked for a copy of the search warrant. "A short time later," she gave officers the key fob to the apartment. Officers asked Jaylyn and Tony to meet them at the Denver SAFE Center on Dec. 18 at 9 a.m. for an interview.
Court documents state when officers arrived at the apartment, Tony opened the door. Officers at the hospital tried to return the fob to Jaylyn but she was not there, according to the affidavit.
More officers arrived at the apartment and found Jaylyn in the lobby. Detectives waited with her in the lobby while the search warrant was executed on their apartment.
Officers entered the apartment just after midnight on Dec. 17 and found it was "in disarray with several storage bins and bags in the common living room." A baby tub was found on the floor in the living room corner with an "unknown item inside that appeared to be dry," court documents state. The affidavit describes TJ's room as "well put together and clean with a crib, play pin, changing table, cot, and baby swing." A baby blanket was on the changing table, and clothing was inside the crib, according to the court documents.
Inside the bathroom, officers found a yellow bottle of Johnson & Johnson baby body wash on the shelf. A half-empty Johnson & Johnson lavender shampoo bottle was found inside the trashcan, according to the affidavit.
Several items were collected from the apartment, including a white towel, a blanket from the changing table, an infant onesie, infant clothing, a soiled diaper from the trash and gloves.
During the search of the apartment, Crime Lab technicians checked the hot water heater inside the apartment, which was set at "HOT B." According to the affidavit, with only two more turns, the hot water would be "VERY HOT."
The technicians tested the water from the faucet in the bathroom and received the following results, according to the affidavit:
- After 0 seconds, the water was 62 degrees Fahrenheit
- After 3 seconds, the water was 89 degrees Fahrenheit
- After 7 seconds, the water was 106 degrees Fahrenheit
- After 11 seconds, the water was 120 degrees Fahrenheit
- After 17 seconds, the water was 130 degrees Fahrenheit
- After 25 seconds, the water was 141 degrees Fahrenheit
- After 35 seconds, the water was 148 degrees Fahrenheit
On Dec. 18, medical staff informed authorities that TJ had suffered a left wrist fracture and a left 11th rib fracture. During an interview with Tony at the Denver SAFE Center that same day, he repeated to investigators that he gave TJ a bath, and when he was drying the infant off, his skin started falling off. According to the affidavit, Tony said he went to work around 2:15 a.m. on Dec. 16 for roughly 15 minutes before getting a ride home from a coworker. The father said he cleaned the apartment until he was interrupted by police executing the search warrant roughly 18 hours later.
Tony denied knowing of TJ's non-burn injuries when asked. He told investigators that the infant hit his head on the slats and headboard on the crib around Thanksgiving time. The father explained that TJ moved around during tummy time and injured himself. Because of this, Tony said the infant would be put to sleep in the playpen because it was softer, according to court documents.
The father agreed to show officers his text messages, specifically messages between him and Jaylyn. According to the affidavit, one message from Jaylyn told Tony to "clean up the beer cans and put the baby's bath in the bathtub prior to the search warrant." Another message from Jaylyn asked "if the apartment was suspicious," court documents state.
Investigators asked Tony about his phone carrier and how he communicated with Jaylyn. He said he did not have service on the phone and the two use a free app called TextNow to communicate. The two need to be connected to WiFi in order to use the app, Tony explained.
The officer interviewing Tony stepped outside for a short break. During that time, the officer saw Tony texting on his phone, according to court documents. The officer returned to the room and asked again to see Tony's messages. The officer looked for the messages regarding the beer cans and "was no longer able to locate it," the affidavit states. The officer also noticed deleted text messages from Jaylyn. When the officer asked Tony about it, the father said Jaylyn must have deleted them on her side. The officer also spotted messages between Jaylyn and Tony about the interview, specifically about what questions the officer was asking, the affidavit states.
Later in the interview, Tony told the officer he lied about having a job and that Jaylyn told him to lie. The father told the officer "they didn't want to lose the baby," according to court documents.
During the interview with Jaylyn at the Denver SAFE Center, the mother said she was sleeping when she was awoken by Tony and told TJ's skin was falling off. She told the officer she called the nurse line at Presbyterian Saint Luke's Hospital instead of 911 "because it could take longer." After taking her son to the hospital, Jaylyn said Tony came to Children's Hospital to pick her up and she drove him to work. She also said she and Tony went home for an hour to eat and gather belongings before going back to the hospital. In the arrest affidavit, the officer noted that Jaylyn was "inconsistent with the time frames she reported Tony was working and returning to the hospital."
The officer told Jaylyn of the additional injuries TJ had suffered. The mother said she had "no knowledge" of them and did not know how her son received them, according to court documents. She told the officer that TJ would hit his head on the crib and headboard.
When asked about the incident, Jaylyn said she did not see TJ in the tub and instead saw the infant in the living room. She also said the baby bath appeared to be dry, court documents state.
The officer asked to see Jaylyn's messages with Tony and noticed missing conversations. The officer asked about the text between her and Tony about cleaning, and Jaylyn said she was "embarrassed," the affidavit reads. Jaylyn told the officer that she knew Tony was not at work and did not have a job. The mother said "she thought this looked bad because neither of them had a job," court documents state. The officer again noted in the affidavit that Jaylyn "continued to be inconsistent with her stories and timeline during the interview."
On Dec. 19, authorities were notified that TJ's health had significantly decreased overnight. According to court documents, TJ's intestines swelled so severely that medical staff had to open his abdomen up in order to relieve pressure. TJ went into critical condition with multi-organ failure. He was eventually placed on life support.
TJ succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Dec. 20. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner determined the infant died from complications of thermal injury (scalding). The autopsy revealed he also had discoloration of his brain from the bilateral brain injury, an incomplete spiral fracture on his left tibia that was healing, and fresh fractures to his radius and ulnar, according to court documents. His death was ruled a homicide.
Tony Vigil was charged with murder in the first degree and child abuse - knowingly/ recklessly causing death. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 19.
Jaylyn Vigil was charged with tampering with evidence. Her arraignment is scheduled for June 24.
