There was no evidence of a crime, no witnesses, no sounds of an angry scream or a violent thud, but 3-year-old Isiah Meza was dead and his mother’s boyfriend, Jose Olivares, was the last person with him.
Olivares told police he’d stepped into the bathroom for about five minutes that day on Feb. 14, 2011. Isiah was playing with his toys and jumping on the bed. When Olivares walked out, Isiah was on the ground, crying and acting oddly.
Doctors who treated Isiah at the hospital for three days, and later — after he died— examined his body, told law enforcement the injuries suffered by the boy—retinal damage, severe hemorrhage, and swelling in the brain—could only be caused by someone violently shaking the child, a medical phenomenon called shaken baby syndrome…