Toddler who fell from window dies

Boy fell from window of Paraiso Motel

MIAMI – A 23-month-old boy who fell from the second-story window of a Hialeah motel last week died Thursday afternoon after being declared brain dead earlier this week, according to Hialeah police.

Luis Enrique Rodriguez, Jr. had been staying at the Paraiso Motel with his parents and 5-month-old brother when the incident happened.

Afterwards, police arrested the boy's parents, Luis Enrique Rodriguez and Jacqueline Sanchez, and charged them with child abuse without great bodily harm after officers found what appeared to be cocaine, empty pill capsules, and alcohol in their motel room, according to an arrest affidavit.

The charges are for the presence of narcotics in proximity of children, police said.

But in an interview with Local 10, both parents denied those allegations.

The couple's 5-month old son was put in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.

Rodriguez and Sanchez, however, had visitation rights for both of their sons.

"The investigation regarding the actual fall and death of the child is open and ongoing," said Hialeah police spokesman Carl Zogby. "Thus far, it appears to be a terrible accident, but evidence is still being processed and interviews are still being conducted."