GALVESTON – An eight-month old mystery on Galveston Island is over.
But many questions remain in the death of a boy known for months as “Little Jacob.”
Police finally identified him while announcing charges against his mother.
“I can’t possibly think what’s going through a person’s mind, you know, to do harm to a child,” said John Richardson of Galveston.
Richardson rides his bike past a memorial that’s grown since the boy’s body was discovered.
“It’s so sad,” said Richardson.
“Little Jacob,” who washed ashore last October, was identified Wednesday as Jayden Alexander Lopez.
He was a battered 4-year-old boy who nobody seemed to miss.
“There was no family, no friends, no outcry, nobody that claimed this little boy,” said Galveston Police Chief Vernon Hale.
Months of investigation and a valuable tip landed Jayden’s mother, Rebecca Rivera in jail.
She told police Jayden caused friction between her and her girlfriend Dania Gomez.
Rivera admitted to physically abusing the boy before his death.
She said they dumped him in the gulf because he liked the water on a previous trip to the beach.
“We’re still waiting on some evidence to come back, some search warrants to come back,” said GPD Det. Jeff Banks. “We’re not finished, we still have some other stuff to collect.”
A number of people stopped by the memorial to pay respects to a boy who mattered to many, no matter his name.
“It’s sad to hear his mom and whoever it was had something to do with it,” said John Richardson.
Jayden’s mother and her girlfriend are being held on bonds of $250,000 and $100,000 respectively.
Additional charges are expected.
Meanwhile, we’ve learned CPS is investigating along with law enforcement.
Jayden’s three year-old sibling is in foster care.