CTV News has obtained court documents connected to the case of a mother, who has been charged in the death of her young son – the documents explain what police and paramedics found when they first arrived at the apartment.
The documents – called Information to Obtain a Search Warrant – outline key elements of the case against Nerlin Sarmiento, the 32-year-old woman facing a charge of first-degree murder in the death of her 7-year-old son on February 12.
In the documents, Homicide detective Danny Collins relates what he learned about the crime scene, in an apartment suite on 109 Street and 53 Avenue.
He states that on that morning, a caller reported to Emergency Medical Services, that she drowned her 7-year-old son, who was unconscious and not breathing.
The documents also outlined information from one of the first police officers on the scene, who said a paramedic had found the child in the bathtub, face down, foaming at the mouth – and the tub was wet, but otherwise empty.
According to the documents, the boy, later identified as Omar Jajoy, was transported to hospital with a prognosis that he wouldn’t survive – in hospital, a bruise on the young boy’s face, above his left eye “that was purple and red in colour”.
The application said officers at the apartment took the mother into custody – outlining the moments leading up to her arrest, when the first two officers on the scene approached her, and she asked “Is he dead?”
A description in the documents states the woman, who identified herself as Nerlin Sarmiento, showed little or no emotion when she asked the question – and based on the call to 911, she was arrested.
Other court documents obtained by CTV News show six items seized from the apartment as part of the search – among them, a box of Abilify, an anti-psychotic medication used to treat depression, bi polar disorder and schizophrenia.
With files from David Ewasuk
