Georgia teen and boyfriend charged after toddler dies from alleged severe beating

Canton police were called early on August 3 after a 2-year-old was found unresponsive at a residence on Cartersville Street; the child was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Investigators focused on the child's live-in boyfriend, 22-year-old Celso Edison Vicente Y Vicente, who was responsible for the child that day and is accused of striking the toddler with his hands and unidentified objects, resulting in charges of malice murder and first-degree cruelty to children.

He was arrested the same evening and held at the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center. More than two weeks later, detectives arrested the child's 18-year-old mother, Devorah Diaz Perez, citing probable cause for second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree cruelty to children, and three counts of reckless conduct. Canton Police Chief Marty Ferrell expressed sorrow for the family and emphasized the thoroughness of the investigation. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy to determine the official cause and manner of death.