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Father arrested for suffocating 3-month-old baby to death: Riverside Police

Kyle David Benitez is seen in an undated booking photo shared by the Riverside Police Department.

Kyle David Benitez is seen in an undated booking photo shared by the Riverside Police Department.

A Riverside man was arrested Friday for allegedly suffocating his 3-month-old baby girl to death, officials said.

In December, police responded to a home in the Sycamore Highlands neighborhood regarding a baby found not breathing in her crib, the Riverside Police Department said in a news release Wednesday.

Upon their arrival, the 3-month-old infant was pronounced dead by paramedics. 

Following protocol for all incidents of this nature, detectives assigned to the sexual assault and child abuse unit responded to assume the investigation, along with the Riverside County coroner’s office.

“During their investigation, detectives learned the baby’s father may have purposely wrapped her in a heavy blanket and positioned her in a way to get her to stop crying,” police said.

The coroner recently concluding the investigation and determined the baby’s cause of death to be suffocation in the manner of homicide, the police department said.

On Friday, 22-year-old Kyle David Benitez was arrested.

He was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder, assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, domestic violence, and willful harm to a child. 

Benitez is being held on $1 million bail.

The investigation is ongoing and no further details were immediately available. 

Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Detective Janet Ramos at 951-826-8716 or JRamos@RiversideCA.gov.