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Local NewsFather of Murdered Racine Boy Saw Signs of AbuseBy Associated Press & Lauren LeamanczykRACINE - Racine police have arrested a man who allegedly beat his girlfriend's 2-year-old son severely enough to lead to the boy's death. Police say the 40-year-old Manuel Garcia and his 24-year-old girlfriend brought Jovani Martinez to the hospital early Friday morning. Doctors were unable to revive the child, and he was pronounced dead two hours later. An autopsy concluded he died of blunt-force trauma injuries. After interviewing both adults, police arrested the Garcia on a tentative charge of first-degree reckless homicide. The woman was arrested on tentative charges of possession of marijuana. Police say Racine County Human Services took custody of the woman's other three children. Jovani's father, Octavio Martinez, told TODAY'S TMJ4 through an interpreter that he had seen bumps and bruises on the child, but he never wanted to believe severe abuse was occurring. "He'd seen them before and ask mom what happened," explained the interpreter. "She would sometimes not respond or she would sometimes say he had fell or something." Neighbors say they wonder if anything could have been done to stop the murder. Melisa Palacios told TODAYS TMJ4 she had been concerned about the treatment of the children but never suspected they were being abused. She wonders if anyone ever reported the family to authorities. "If there was something that could have been done or should have been done, it's really upsetting because that's another baby that's died," she said. (The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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