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Elijah Matias, 23, of Cogan Station, is believed to have caused the boy's multiple internal and external injuries in various stages of healing found in an autopsy in January 2021, the DA's office said.
The cause of death was determined to have been blunt force trauma resulting in lacerations to the victim’s liver, mesentery, and pancreas. Based upon the findings of Forensic Pathologist Dr. Neil Hoffman, the child’s death was ruled a homicide.
Reading police were initially sent to the 400 block of Schuylkill Avenue for a 3-year-old boy in respiratory distress on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, the DA's office said. The boy was taken to Reading Tower Health Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:30 p.m.
An investigation by detectives with the Reading Police Department found that the boy had been in the sole care of his mother's boyfriend, Matias, just prior to the 911 call being placed, according to the DA's office.
Dr. Hoffman ruled the death a homicide on Jan. 30, 2021, and police continued to investigate, but no arrests were made at the time, the DA's office said.
Berks County District Attorney John Adams picked the case up in April 2024 as part of his Cold Case Initiative, leading to the Reading Police Department and Berks County Detectives working together on the case.
The joint investigation involved methodically reexamining the medical records related to the boy's various injuries and physical abuse he sustained over the hours, days, and weeks leading up to his death, according to the DA's office.
Further investigation by Dr. Hoffman revealed the boy's fatal injuries were inflicted just hours prior to his death, the DA's office said. That allowed investigators to significantly narrow down the timeline and determine that the boy had been under Matias's sole care in the hours prior to his death.
On Monday, Oct. 7, Matias was charged with:
- Murder of the First Degree.
- Murder of the Third Degree.
- Aggravated Assault - Victim Less Than 13 and Defendant 18 or Older.
- Recklessly Endangering Another Person.
- Endangering Welfare of Children - Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense.
Matias was arrested at his residence in Cogan Station, Lycoming County by the US Marshall's Fugitive Task Force on Thursday, Oct. 10, according to the DA's office.
He is being held in Berks County Prison with bail denied because of the First-Degree Murder charge, according to court documents. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 25.
Matias was previously charged for Theft from a Motor Vehicle and possession of drugs stemming from a Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019 incident, according to court documents.
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