Prosecutors say the 2-month-old showed bruising and began vomiting days before her parents brought her to a hospital.
BALTIMORE — The parents of a 2-month-old Baltimore girl who died Wednesday gave investigators differing explanations for her injuries after authorities learned the infant had shown signs of illness and bruising for days before she was taken to a hospital, according to charging documents and court proceedings.
Aida Mikea Monzon Alvarado died at Harbor Hospital after becoming unresponsive. Her parents, 21-year-old Katerin Monzon Alvarado and 21-year-old Oscar Pineda, have been charged with child abuse, assault and reckless endangerment. Both were ordered held without bail Friday as investigators continued examining how the baby suffered severe head injuries.
Police were called to Harbor Hospital at about 1:08 a.m. Wednesday after medical staff pronounced Aida dead. Doctors had noticed bruising around the infant’s face, and preliminary findings from the medical examiner suggested trauma to her body. Homicide detectives were then called to investigate.
Charging documents later described multiple skull fractures and significant head and brain trauma. The documents also described bleeding involving the brain. Authorities have not publicly released a final autopsy determination, and police have said any additional homicide charges will depend on the medical examiner’s findings.
Prosecutors said the parents told investigators they first noticed bruises on Aida on Sunday. The baby began vomiting the following day, according to the account presented in court. The parents said they did not seek medical treatment until Wednesday, after she became unresponsive.
Monzon Alvarado initially told police that her daughter stopped responding while lying face down on a bed after being fed, according to reporting based on the charging documents. Prosecutors said she later attributed the baby’s injuries to an incident involving her 2-year-old son, saying he frequently jumped on the bed and that Aida had fallen to the floor.
An assistant state’s attorney challenged that explanation during the bail proceedings, arguing that the injuries described by medical personnel were too extensive to have resulted from the single fall alleged by the mother. Monzon Alvarado’s public defender said her client denied harming the child and pointed out that investigators found the family’s home orderly and without signs of neglect.
Pineda gave investigators a separate explanation. According to court statements and the charging documents as reported by CBS News Baltimore, he attributed his daughter’s injuries to a supernatural force and referred to Satan in describing how he believed she was hurt. Authorities have not said that investigators accepted either parent’s explanation.
After the preliminary medical findings raised concerns about trauma, homicide detectives went to the family’s home in Baltimore’s Brooklyn neighborhood and took both parents into custody. Police said detectives interviewed them and then consulted prosecutors before filing first- and second-degree child abuse, first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment charges.
The differing accounts are now part of an investigation centered on the source and timing of Aida’s injuries and the delay before she received medical care. Prosecutors have said the existing charges carry a maximum possible sentence of 55 years. The allegations have not been proven in court, and both defendants are presumed innocent.
The investigation remains open while authorities await the completed autopsy. The medical examiner’s findings could provide additional evidence about the cause and manner of Aida’s death and will help determine whether prosecutors seek further charges.
Author note: Last updated September 14, 2026.