Oregon Man Killed 4-Year-Old Over Spilled Beer

Image via Marion County Sheriff’s Office

The truth finally came out for one family March 19 in an Oregon courtroom. Gerardo Chavarria, 24, pled guilty to one count of manslaughter and two counts of criminal mistreatment as he admitted to beating 4-year-old Sebastian Iturbe’s head against the floor in November 2011. What had Sebastian, the son of Chavarria’s then-girlfriend Erika Iturbe Colin, done to set off Chavarria? Apparently the child had spilled his beer.

Sick fuck. And to make matters worse, he’s been lying about it for more than a year. After Chavarria went ape shit on poor little Sebastian and knocked the kid unconscious, he didn’t even seek immediate medical assistance. Instead, he put Sebastian in bed “for a nap.” A couple hours later, when the tot was still unconscious, he finally decided to take him to the hospital where he lied through his teeth. You see, Sebastian, the only other person who knew the truth, never woke up again. After emergency brain surgery, the boy died from a skull fracture and brain bleed.

Initially, Chavarria told authorities the whole thing was a terrible accident, and Sebastian had simply lost his balance and fallen down the stairs. But a couple of days later, when that story proved to be full of holes, he changed his story and claimed some responsibility, although nothing compared to what we now know is the truth. Chavarria said he pushed Sebastian down the stairs of the apartment building where the family lived when Sebastian wouldn’t carry something. And believe it or not, that story stuck for the past 16 months.

We may never know what finally made Chavarria own up to his actual crime. Did he finally grow a conscience, or did he and his attorney realize it was all going to come out in open court in the next few weeks anyway? By admitting the truth, Chavarria was able to plead guilty to manslaughter instead of his original indictment of murder. So now he gets 25 years, after which he’ll be deported. I doubt the punishment fits the crime in the eyes of Sebastian’s mother.

“I will never get to hear him say ‘I love you, Mommy,’” Colin said to Chavarria during her impact statement, as he looked away. “I can’t say I forgive you because I don’t. I hate you with all my heart.”