Heartbreaking video shows the moment a four-year-old Texas boy begged his father for a piece of bread before dying of hunger.
More than 30 videos of Benjamín Cervera were shown in court on Monday, including a video of the boy nervously asking his father for something to eat.
‘Dad, dad, can I have bread?’ Benjamin said with his hands tightly crossed in front of his chest as his clothes hung off of him. The video was taken just days before the four-year-old boy died of hunger.
The young man begged his father for bread, water or milk before pleading: “I want bread,” according to the story. KSAT.
The videos, captured on cell phones and surveillance cameras, were played in front of Benjamin’s father, Brandon Cervera, 31, who faces life in prison if convicted.
‘Dad, dad, can I have bread?’ Benjamin said with his hands tightly crossed in front of his chest as his clothes hung off of him. The video was recorded a few days before the four-year-old boy died of hunger.
More than 30 videos of Benjamín Cervera were shown in court on Monday, including a video of the little boy nervously asking his father for something to eat.
Other videos from early 2021 show the boy rummaging through cabinets and the refrigerator for food in the middle of the night. Benjamin could be seen eating fruit snacks, a cup of Jell-O, cookies and milk.
Over time, Brandon would lock the cabinets, making it harder for Benjamin to steal food.
In a text message exchange with his ex-wife, Brandon allegedly told her, “He doesn’t need dinner” and told his ex to just give the boy bread after she told him he had been begging all day.
Surveillance footage also shows the crying boy trapped in his sparsely furnished room, which he shared with his brother. Benjamin was the only member of the family who did not have a bed and was forced to sleep on a mattress with a urine-soaked blanket.
Other videos show Benjamin punching his face in the back seat of a car and Brandon threatening his son while asking for bread, according to the site. San Antonio Express-News.
The cell phone images were obtained by police from his stepmother Miranda Casarez’s device, while the surveillance images were taken from cameras located inside the apartment, according to Detective Lawrence Saiz of the San Antonio Police Department.
Benjamin’s father, Brandon Cervera, 31, who faces life in prison if convicted, remained expressionless as the videos were played in court Monday.
As prosecutors showed the evidence, many jurors had to look away or shake their heads, while Brandon remained expressionless, according to KSAT.
Bexar County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kimberley Molina also showed photos of Benjamin’s bruised body and told the court that the injuries were not due to attempts to perform CPR, as Brandon’s defense has tried to conclude.
The father’s defense has attempted to discredit Molina’s report, where he ruled that the boy died of starvation, saying it is misleading, according to KSAT.
His attorney, Jodi Soyars, argued that Molina rounded the numbers and that could affect how the boy’s growth was perceived, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
The child’s clothing and weight were used to calculate his BMI, which helped her hand down a sentence of starvation.
Benjamin only weighed 28 pounds at the time of his death and had not grown in 10 months, according to Molina. He also noted that the child had no body fat and that no food was found in the intestinal tract when he died.
During a welfare check (pictured), Benjamín was seen with black eyes and extremely thin. When the boy died, he had no body fat, no food in his intestinal tract, he had macrocytic anemia, his thymus gland was gone, and he weighed just 28 pounds.
Other videos from early 2021 show the boy rummaging through cabinets and the refrigerator for food in the middle of the night. Benjamin could be seen eating fruit snacks, a cup of Jell-O, cookies and milk.
Surveillance footage also shows the crying boy trapped in his sparsely furnished room, which he shared with his brother. Benjamin was the only member of the family who did not have a bed and was forced to sleep on a mattress with a urine-soaked blanket.
He also said that Benjamin suffered from macrocytic anemia due to vitamin deficiencies. The blood disorder occurs when the body lacks essential nutrients to form enough blood cells.
Benjamin’s thymus, located in the upper chest, had also disappeared, which is possible if a child is under extreme stress, he said, according to The Express-News.
Pediatrician James Lukefahr, who treated the boy at the hospital where he died, also said the boy was underweight for his age and agreed with Molina’s decision.
“In my opinion, there was substantial evidence that Benji had been a victim of starvation prior to his death,” he said, according to KSAT.
During a welfare check, Benjamín was seen with black eyes and so thin that his ribs were protruding.
Officer Omar Perez, one of the two police officers who made the welfare call, told the court that Benjamín “had visible injuries.”
Benjamin would sneak into the kitchen at night to get food, but over time that became more difficult as locks were added.
A medical examiner ruled the cause of death was starvation. Brandon’s defense has tried to claim that the autopsy is misleading and that the child had always been small.
Perez added: “He had bruises on his eyes and torso and he was skinny…I could see his bones.”
Brandon and Casarez told police the boy had been injured and had behavioral problems.
Benjamin died on August 17, 2021 and Brandon now faces charges of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, which is a felony.
Casarez was convicted in April and sentenced to 25 years in prison for injury to a child by omission causing serious bodily injury, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Benjamin’s older brother, who is only identified as BC, testified that Casarez forced his brother to eat hot sauce and hand sanitizer and threw the boy into the air without catching him, according to People.