Baby drowns in bucket of urine

Baby Kydari Pacheco was found lifeless in the bucket by his 29-yearold father who wasted no time in rushing the child to the Port-of- Spain General Hospital.

The baby was pronounced dead on arrival by Dr Ramoutar. Told of his son’s death, the father Kevon Pacheco became hysterical and ran out of the hospital.

When police later arrived at the family’s home they found the baby’s parents in tears and holding on to each other. Investigators photographed the bedroom where the incident took place and also seized an orange-coloured bucket containing the urine.

The tiny was sent to the Forensic Science Centre for an autopsy.

Yesterday, Patricia Checkley was inconsolable as she remembered the all too brief time spent with her great grandson. She said the baby’s parents did not have any bathroom facility where they live and she had allowed them to use her home to bathe and use its bathroom whenever they wished.

She said Kevon’s other son Kimani lives with her. Checkley said Kevon was in the process of digging a cesspit to construct a toilet and bathroom.

She described him as a loving and devoted father.

She said that based on what she heard, Kevon awoke at 4.35 am yesterday and asked the baby’s mother Nikita Wilson, for their son. When the baby, who was last seen sleeping behind his mother’s back, was not on the bed a search was made and he was found face down in the bucket of urine.

“Right now I don’t know if to turn left or right. My belly still hurting me, I cannot believe my sweet baby is dead. I cannot believe this has happened, but I want everybody to know this was purely a tragic accident and no one should blame Kevon or Nikita,” Checkley said.

She added that because the couple had no bathroom facility, they kept a bucket at the side of the bed. Newsday understands that on Wednesday night Nikita and her baby retired to bed on the lower half of a double-decker bed while Kimani slept on the top section. Kevon slept on a couch. Up to press time, two people were in custody and investigations are continuing.