Racine man arrested in connection to death of girlfriend's 22-month-old son

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) — We're learning new details about the death of a toddler, leading to a Racine man's arrest.

According to the Racine Police Department, officers were contacted by Children's Wisconsin the evening of May 18 to report a potential child abuse case.

Twenty-two-month-old Joriel Ramirez-Rodriguez was pronounced dead on Wednesday, May 27, from what police described as "significant head trauma." 

On Thursday, Racine Police arrested 28-year-old Jordan Keith, who they identified as the live-in boyfriend of the child's mother.

The boy's father, aunt, and grandmother spoke to CBS 58 on Friday about the situation.

"He was fearless. He was a ninja. Like, my little superhero," Jorge Ramirez said about his son, who he calls "Jori."

The Ramirez family describes Jori as a jokester. Even just shy of 2-years-old, he would bring light to every room.

"He was just beautiful. He was literally like, the most beautiful baby I've ever seen," said Jennifer Ramirez, Jori's aunt.

Just a few days after losing Jori, their family feels emptiness.

"This was just so unexpected. Like, this just feels like a nightmare that we're still living in," she explained.

Recently, Jori's father felt something might be wrong.

"He'd been getting bruises for a couple weeks now," Ramirez said. "I always kind of like gave his mom the benefit of the doubt.

He told CBS 58, he was taking photos of the bruises, with hopes of gaining full custody of his son. 

Then last week, he received a devastating phone call.

"His mom called me, saying that he wasn't breathing," he said.

Ramirez said his son sometimes suffered breath-holding spells when crying. He says Jori's mother told him that's what happened.

"She said that she was trying to bring him back, like trying to blow on his face, trying to throw water on him," Ramirez described. "He didn't come back."

The boy's mother took him to Ascension, and he was airlifted to Children's. That's when she called Ramirez.

"I actually beat the helicopter to the hospital," he said.

His son remained in a coma until Wednesday, when he was taken off life support.

"I literally held my son until he passed away," Ramirez explained. "Even then, I couldn't leave him. I was there for hours, just staring at him." 

When he heard Kieth was arrested one day later, he felt only some relief.

"That's not going to bring my son back," Ramirez said. "He can spend all his life in jail. Arrest the mom, too, but that's not going to bring my son back."

Ramirez told CBS 58 that Jori's mother had only been dating Kieth for a couple months, and Ramirez had only met him one time.

"How long do you know this guy? You're just like, trusting him with my son?" said Ramirez. "I'd like to hope that they loved him, and that it was an accident, but you know, life ain't that clean." 

Racine police referred charges of first-degree reckless homicide for Kieth, but those charges haven't been filed as of Friday afternoon.

"I feel lost, incomplete without him, and very angry at the situation," Jori's grandmother, Sylvia Aruchiga, said in spanish. "All I ask for is justice for my boy."

Ramirez is in contact with the detectives on the case, and said it is still early in the investigation.

While he's glad an arrest has been made, it's not enough to heal his pain.

"I want somebody to come back and revive my son, that's what I want to happen," he explained. "But that's not going to happen. So, anything else that happens - whatever."

The Ramirez family is hosting a hot food sale on June 6 to raise money for Joriel's end-of-life costs.

The benefit will be held at the West Milwaukee Community Center from 12pm to 5pm, with birria, pozole, elotes, and more.