Buried 5-Year-Old: Mother's Boyfriend Charged For Cleveland Death

CLEVELAND, OH — A grand jury has indicted a 36-year-old man for the death of 5-year-old Jordan Rodriguez, whose body was found buried at his mother's house. The suspect was Rodriguez's children's services provider and was his mother's boyfriend, according to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley.

Christopher Rodriguez, 36, has been charged with murder, felonious assault, endangering children and gross abuse of a corpse, O'Malley said. It was actually Christopher's brother that tipped law enforcement to the presence of the 5-year-old's body, the prosecutor said.

According to information released by O'Malley, Christopher's brother called law enforcement while he was in Pakistan in December, telling officers that Christopher and Larissa Rodriguez, Jordan's mother, had buried the 5-year-old in the backyard of their W. 80th St. home.

On Dec. 19, law enforcement found Jordan's body buried at the house. His body reportedly had signs of abuse, including broken ribs.

“Christopher Rodriguez was intimately involved in the abuse and death of this child," O'Malley said.

Christopher is the third person charged in the death of Jordan. Larissa is currently being held on a $1 million bond. She pleaded not guilty to murder, felonious assault, endangering children and gross abuse of a corpse.

Nancy Caraballo, a parent educator for Bright Beginnings, has also been indicted.

The trio have also been charged for an alleged food stamp fraud. Caraballo allegedly paid Larissa 50 cents for every $1 of her food stamp benefits, which totaled $10,058. The benefits were meant to help Larissa's five children, including Jordan. O'Malley said the fraud lasted from July 2015 to December 2017.

Larissa and Caraballo have also been charged with illegal use of food stamps, grand theft telecommunications fraud, money laundering and bribery. Caraballo has also been charged with 12 counts of tampering with government records.

Carabllo's job required her to make monthly visits to see Larissa's home and evaluate her children. She was then supposed to refer them to educational services. O'Malley said that on at least 11 occasions, including the month before police found Jordan's body, Caraballo faked her reports and did not go inside the home.

Caraballo was supposed to document any neglect or abuse to proper authorities. O'Malley said it was documented that the home was in deplorable condition, but Caraballo did not report those conditions.

Arraignment for Caraballo and Rodriguez is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on February 14, 2018.

Photo from Renee Schiavone, Patch