8-YO Slept Next to Pregnant Mom for Hours Thinking She Was Resting, Unaware She Was Dead After Her Partner Abused Her

Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 13, 2023. It has since been updated.

Trigger Warning: The story has details of murder and physical assault that readers will find disturbing.

Mothers are everything for their kids and their bond is special. The warmth of her touch makes every kid feel protected from the harm of the world. But what would you do if that protection is taken away from you suddenly? The 8-year-old boy in this story is left without his mom because of a cruel man.

The unnamed boy slept next to his pregnant mother after she was beaten to death by her boyfriend. According to the reports of 2ClickHouston, the boy was unaware that his mother had died. Her boyfriend had told him not to wake up the 27-year-old woman as she was sleeping. It was morning when he realized that his mom was never going to wake up.

Police are on the lookout for the 23-year-old boyfriend, Alexis Armando Rojas-Mendez who killed Ashley M Garcia earlier this month in Houston. According to the court documents, a neighbor witnessed Alexis beating Ashley outside their home, in the parking lot on September 18.

The neighbor also revealed that Alexis tried to force the boy's mom inside the jeep along with the 8-year-old. When she refused, he dragged her to their third-floor apartment instead. Investigators divulged that it was after this incident that Alexis killed Ashley and asked her son not to wake her up.

One cannot imagine the young boy's grief and trauma when he found out that the mother he loved so much and slept next to the whole night wasn't sleeping but had been a victim of a ruthless man's rage. And this was the person who was supposed to be protecting her and her unborn child.

Ashley's family laid her to rest in a private ceremony. Her grieving sister, Yessenia said, “I have so many mixed emotions. I am sad, I am angry, I just want justice for her, that’s all I want, I want her to be at peace." She described her as a loving mother and added that Ashley was seven weeks pregnant and had three other kids. “You know, those kids are so much like her, it’s crazy,” she said.

According to People, when the investigators entered Ashley's apartment, they were greeted with the most horrific sight. Blood was spattered across the walls and floors of the house. As revealed by the court documents, there were blunt force injuries on her body and head.

When the police arrived on the morning of September 19, they found her body covered in horrific injuries that confirmed the cause of her death. They revealed that she had been dead for several hours at her apartment in the 5500 block of De Soto.

The court documents also suggested that the innocent boy had been a witness to his mother's brutal beating. Such an attack may leave a lasting effect on the young boy's mind.

But the courageous boy helped out the investigators and told them that he saw Alexis beating his mother with steel-toe boots that he usually wore for work. The traumatic assault took place the night before she died.

Alexis left the scene of crime right after the murder but contacted her sisters asking for money and an "out-of-town job." His family confessed to the police that they dismissed his request. They also added that Alexis sounded "stressed out" on the phone, according to the court documents. Even though he has been charged with murder, he has not been taken into custody yet.

The cops have requested anyone who has any information about Alexis Armando Rojas-Mendez to contact the HPD Homicide Division at (713) 308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.

References:

https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2020/09/24/search-underway-for-man-after-womans-son-finds-her-beaten-to-death-police-say/?outputType=amp

https://people.com/crime/8-year-old-boy-finds-pregnant-mom-beaten/