DC Man Faces Murder, Child Abuse Charges In Death Of 18-Month-Old From Silver Spring

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Washington, D.C. man was arrested Monday in connection with the death last March of 18-month-old Zavier Giron from Silver Spring, according to Montgomery County Police.

On March 11, around 4 a.m., MPD officers and members of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service responded to the 7900 block of Chicago Avenue in Silver Spring, for the report of a child not breathing. Giron was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to police.

Investigators interviewed Giron's mother, who told them her son hadn't been feeling well. When she woke up and discovered he was not breathing, she called 911. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Giron and found signs of child abuse.

Through their investigation, detectives identified the mother's boyfriend, Marlon Adilson Melendez, 28, as a suspect in the case. Police say his abuse of the child had caused serious injuries.

Acting on an arrest warrant, members of the U.S. Marshals Capital Area Regional Task Force arrested Melendez Monday in Hyattsville. Police charged him with first-degree child abuse and second-degree murder.

Melendez, who is not Giron's biological father, is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, according to police.