Cleveland Couple Sentenced For Causing Grandson's Death

CLEVELAND — A Cleveland couple was sentenced to prison for causing the death of their 4-year-old grandson, Eliazar Ruiz, prosecutors announced this week.

Romaine Tolbert, 38, and Joanne Vega, 33, were both sentenced on Monday. Tolbert was given 15 years in prison, while Vega was given 8 years.

“This community has seen too many senseless homicides of innocent children,” said Cuyahoga Prosecutor Michael O’Malley. “We hope that the victim’s family can take some solace in today’s sentence as justice for Eliazar has prevailed.”

In 2015, Ruiz's mother was being sent to prison. She dropped her son off with Vega, so she could care for the boy. The mother was released from prison in 2016 but Vega and Tolbert refused to let her see her son, prosecutors said.

Ruiz's mother then reported her son missing.

On Sept. 20, 2017, police found human remains in the backyard of a vacant house near Longmead Avenue and W. 130th Street. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner did an autopsy and discovered the remains were those of a small child.

The child's cause of death was ruled a homicide. The child had suffered fractures to both arms, the medical examiner said.

The body was too badly decomposed for an identification to be made, so police contacted a Kent State University anthropology professor and asked him to create a forensic sketch.

In December 2017, the sketch was released to the media. Weeks later, Ruiz's mother contacted Cleveland police and said the drawing looked like her missing son. DNA testing confirmed the remains were those of Ruiz, prosecutors said.

Cleveland police connected Vega and Tolbert to the crime through phone records email, social media account and witness testimonty, prosecutors said. Both Vega and Tolbert fled the state during the investigation and were captured by U.S. Marshals in Adrian, Michigan and sent back to Cuyahoga County, the indictment said.

Vega pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• One count of involuntary manslaughter
• One count of endangering children
• One count of tampering with evidence
• One count of gross abuse of a corpse

A jury found Tolbert guilty of the following charges:

• One count of involuntary manslaughter
• One count of kidnapping
• One count of endangering children
• One count of tampering with evidence
• One count of gross abuse of a corpse