Charges Upgraded Against Man Whose Son Was Found Dead In Stamford Park: PD

STAMFORD, CT — The Stamford Police Department on Wednesday announced upgraded charges against a Stamford man whose 2-year-old son was found dead and buried in Cummings Park in January 2023.

Edgar Ismalej-Gomez, 28, who has been in custody since Jan. 3, 2023 on a violation of probation charge, is expected to be charged now with cruelty to persons; hindering prosecution; two counts of tampering with evidence; risk of injury to a minor; criminal violation of a protective order; and conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, police said in a news release.

The new arrest warrant comes with a court-set bond of $1 million.

Police said Wednesday discrepancies arose regarding Ismalej-Gomez's involvement in the events leading to his son Liam Rivera's death.

"Subsequent evidence uncovered his potential complicity in actions endangering the child's welfare in the days prior to his death," police added, citing a lengthy investigation by the department's Major Crimes Unit Squad A.

Police received information on Jan. 2, 2023, in reference to a possible kidnapping and a child who may have been harmed and buried in the area of Cummings Park.

Officers responded to the park and found fresh dirt that was disturbed, police said. Officers then unearthed a plastic bag containing the remains of Rivera.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the boy's death a homicide by multiple blunt force injuries to the head.

Ismalej-Gomez was identified as a person of interest, and investigators worked with local agencies to locate him.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 3, 2023, officers pulled over a taxi containing Ismalej-Gomez on West Main Street and he was arrested without incident, police said. He was initially charged with violation of probation stemming from another arrest and incident in 2021 in which Rivera suffered a broken arm, police said.

Rivera's mother, Iris Rivera-Santos, 29, was arrested in connection with Rivera's death on Feb. 3, 2023, and charged with risk of injury to a minor; hindering prosecution; tampering with evidence and cruelty to persons, police said. She has pleaded not guilty.

Last October, the Office of the Child Advocate for the State of Connecticut released a 59-page report on Rivera who was under the care of DCF.

Ismalej-Gomez and Rivera-Santos are scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court this month. The investigation remains ongoing, police said.