Mom 'smothered' infant, staged scene to look like baby died in his sleep because she was 'scared of going to jail': Police

A 21-year-old parent successful Florida allegedly suffocated her 3-week-old lad aft strapping him into a car seat, placing him successful a bathtub, and blasting large euphony portion ignoring his cries for hours.

Crystal Garcia is charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, kid neglect, tampering with oregon fabricating carnal evidence, nonaccomplishment to study a death, and providing mendacious accusation to instrumentality enforcement successful transportation with her infant's death, tribunal records show.

The child's father, 25-year-old Anfernee Watts, is facing the same charges arsenic Garcia arsenic good arsenic 1 number of obstructing a transgression investigation.

According to a probable origin affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Hollywood Police Department and Hollywood Fire Rescue responded to a location successful the 6000 artifact of Thomas Street astatine astir 1:44 p.m. connected Aug. 1, 2025, regarding a study of an unresponsive infant. First responders located the babe wrong a tiny playpen successful a backstage country of the residence, wherever helium was pronounced dormant astatine astir 1:50 p.m.

Inside the room, investigators observed the babe lying look up with his rima unfastened and achromatic foam inside, according to the affidavit. The baby's lips were cracked with dried blood, and helium was inactive wearing a soiled diaper. Detectives besides noted a beardown odor of bleach coming from the bathroom, wherever the model had been opened and cleaning supplies — including a mop, broom, wipes, and a instrumentality with a cleaning cause — appeared to person been precocious used.

A car spot was recovered adjacent to the playpen, and an Amazon Alexa instrumentality was located wrong the bathroom.

Watts initially told officers helium near the location astir 5:30 a.m. for a occupation interrogation successful Miami aft helium and Garcia fed the baby, changed his diaper, and placed him successful the playpen wrapped successful a blanket. He claimed Garcia aboriginal called him astir the situation, but investigators determined the mates shared a cellphone, which remained wrong the home.

In a abstracted interview, Garcia told officers she fed the babe and went backmost to slumber earlier waking astir 10 a.m. She said she noticed the babe was not making sound and realized thing was incorrect aft opening 1 of his eyes.

"You cognize erstwhile you spot idiosyncratic erstwhile they passed, similar it was similar that," she told officers, per the affidavit.

Garcia admitted she did not telephone 911 oregon effort CPR, alternatively waiting for Watts to instrumentality home. She said she began cleaning the country and did not archer her parent due to the fact that she did not privation to "stress her out."

As the probe progressed, detectives said they uncovered aggregate inconsistencies successful the couple's accounts.

Watts claimed his occupation interrogation lasted astir 10 minutes, but investigators determined nary specified interrogation took place. He besides admitted to disposing of babe bottles and different items from the location and said helium knocked implicit a jar of bleach and cleaned it up with wipes portion Garcia was calling 911.

Surveillance footage from a Ring camera crossed the thoroughfare showed Garcia extracurricular the location astir 30 minutes earlier calling 911, carrying a ample achromatic garbage container and what appeared to beryllium a mop oregon broom and placing them successful a trash bin.

Family members told investigators the babe had been steadfast conscionable days earlier, including during a doctor's sojourn connected July 28, 2025.

Garcia aboriginal provided respective antithetic versions of events earlier yet admitting to a much elaborate account, according to the affidavit.

"She placed the baby's grey pacifier successful his mouth, wrapped him successful the broad tightly, securing the pacifier successful his rima to forestall him from spitting it retired and strapped him into the car seat," the affidavit said. "She past entered the bath and placed the car spot with the babe successful it, wrong of the bathtub."

Garcia told investigators she past played lullabies connected the Alexa device, closed the bath door, and went backmost to sleep.

"Despite proceeding the babe cry, she willfully ignored his distress and failed to cheque connected him for respective hours," the affidavit states. "Upon aboriginal observing that the babe was unresponsive and appeared deceased, she failed to instantly question aesculapian assistance and alternatively participated successful staging the country to mislead instrumentality enforcement."

Detectives said Garcia yet admitted she was "scared of going to jail," and that she and Watts fabricated a communicative to archer police, placing the babe backmost successful the playpen to marque it look helium had died successful his sleep.

Garcia besides allegedly called the section and near a voicemail saying she had "lied" astir her son's death, clarifying that she "smothered the baby."

"My probe into this incidental revealed that Crystal Garcia and Anfernee Watts provided aggregate mendacious and inconsistent statements to instrumentality enforcement successful an effort to conceal the existent circumstances surrounding the decease of their 3-week-old child," a detective wrote. "Both helium and Crystal Garcia admitted to fabricating a communicative to contiguous to instrumentality enforcement … successful an effort to marque it look arsenic though the babe died successful his sleep."

The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office aboriginal determined the baby's origin of decease was suffocation and ruled the mode of decease a homicide.

Both defendants are being held successful the Broward Main Jail without bond. It was not instantly wide erstwhile they were scheduled to instrumentality to court.