The case of a dead Orlando toddler has gone from a possible accident to a case of homicide in the eyes of authorities this month, after the Orlando medical examiner has ruled the toddler’s death a murder. In September, a nineteen month old child named Nyana Vargas was brought to Arnold Palmer Hospital in the early afternoon of September 6th, where she died. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide in late October, opening up the case for closer scrutiny from authorities who are trying desperately to ascertain how the murder occurred and who is the culprit behind it.
Vargas’ mother was at work at the time of her daughter’s death, and the child was being taken care of by a babysitter. According to authorities, the child was taken to the hospital directly from the babysitter’s home. The medical examiner states that blunt force trauma is to blame for the child’s death, as her face and head had been severely injured. These injuries ultimately led to her death.
Because the mother was not present while the child was injured, blame may possibly shift to the babysitter or someone the babysitter is connected to. For whatever reason, the Orlando police have not specified whether they have any suspects or leads in the case, although they have been forthcoming about the fact they have launched a homicide investigation into Nyana Vargas’ death.
There are a number of ways that blunt force trauma may come about, either through the use of an object or actively pushing and/or throwing the child at a hard object or surface. Because children’s bodies are still in the early stages of development at nineteen months, it is also possible that Nyana Vargas’ skull was not fully formed and this could have led to the level of injury that ultimately took her young life. While the death of Nyana took place in early September, it has taken until late October for the possibility of homicide to be confirmed, meaning that incredibly important time has been lost when it comes to finding the killer or killers.