Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher has released the official cause of death of an infant killed Saturday, Sept. 1, in the 3900 block of Charleston Highway in West Columbia.

According to Fisher, an autopsy was performed Friday on nine-month-old Miguel Angel Alvarado.  The autopsy concluded that the infant sustained blunt force injuries to the head and chest, resulting in subdural hemorrhage and cerebral contusion, along with fractured ribs.  Suffocation was also determined to have been a contributing factor in the death.

The investigation by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department is ongoing; Karla Emilady Alvarado (the infant’s mother) and Noe Enrique Cabrera-Rivera, have been charged with homicide by child abuse.

Alvarado and Cabrera-Rivera made no attempts to call 911 and start life-saving measures until approximately two hours after the child’s estimated time of death, according to the department.

“The nine-month-old baby received injuries to his head resulting from blunt force trauma,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “Based on interviews with the suspects, detectives have determined Alvarado and Cabrera-Rivera were with the baby when he was injured.” 

Alvarado and Cabrera-Rivera are being held in the Lexington County Detention Center after a magistrate judge denied them bond Friday afternoon.