Testimony will continue Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of killing his former girlfriend's 3-year-old son.
Itzaira DeJesus cried during the trial's first day while recounting how her son Alexis Garcia was not breathing when she rushed home from her job in May 2010. Garcia died a day after being rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital.
The boy died, prosecutors said, at the hands of his mother's boyfriend, Michell Blanco. Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said Itzaira DeJesus and Blanco made conflicting statements about how the boy was hurt.
According to the boy's autopsy, the child's injuries were consistent with a high-speed car crash, evidenced by bruised ribs and multiple concussions.
Blanco's attorney told the court in opening statements that the boy's injuries were not caused by a beating, but rather a fall on concrete, and that police rushed to focus the investigation on Blanco without looking into any other evidence.
Prosecutors will continue to present their case today. Meanwhile, defense attorneys have not said whether Blanco will take the stand in his own defense.
Blanco, 31, is charged with first-degree murder. If convicted, he faces life in prison.