Ex-North Carolina college professor charged in baby’s death

GASTONIA, N.C.

Authorities have charged a former North Carolina school professor with first-degree homicide after his adopted 6-week-old son died from accidents that investigators mentioned resulted from bodily abuse.

Gastonia police mentioned in a information launch on Thursday that Van Erick Custodio, 42, of Gastonia was beforehand charged with felony youngster abuse inflicting extreme bodily damage.

Based on police, officers and emergency personnel responded to a house on April 1 after a report of an toddler in cardiac arrest. The toddler was taken to a neighborhood hospital, and detectives decided that the child’s situation resulted from being bodily abused.

The infant died on Wednesday, in response to police.

On April 11, Custodio was arrested in York County, South Carolina and extradited to Gaston County. He was jailed on a $500,000 bond initially, and was scheduled to seem in courtroom on Thursday. Information confirmed he did not have an legal professional.

Custodio was listed as a full-time assistant professor in pc research at Belmont Abbey School, however his data was not obtainable on the varsity’s internet web page. His Linkedin web page additionally confirmed he was an adjunct professor on the College of North Carolina at Charlotte in the beginning of 2022.