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Leticia Bravo, age 39, of Newburgh, pleaded guilty on Wednesday, March 16 to manslaughter for her role in the death of 7-year-old Peter Cuacuas, who was kept hidden behind a bedroom behind a door that locked from the outside.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said that shortly after 8 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2021, Bravo brought the child’s lifeless body to St. Luke’s Hospital in Newburgh, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the death found that when the school year began in September 2020, Bravo became the primary caretaker of Cuacuas, as she dated the boy's father, Arturo Cuacuas.
Investigators said that Cuacuas would stay with Bravo at her William Street apartment in Newburgh every day but Saturdays, which were reserved for his father.
The autopsy by the Medical Examiner found that Cuacuas, who was 37 pounds at the time of his death, died as a result of malnutrition.
Hoovler said that Bravo kept Peter Cuacuas locked in the room, and the boy hadn't logged in to school for virtual learning for more than a month before his death, despite teachers attempting to intervene.
“It is unthinkable that someone would accept the responsibility of caring for a child and then deny that child the basic necessities of life,” Hoovler said at the time she was charged
“Children are the most innocent and vulnerable of victims. It is truly disturbing how this child was kept hidden from school authorities before he died.”
Bravo had faced a murder charge before her guilty plea. When she is sentenced the District Attorney is recommending that Bravo receive 15 years in state prison.
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