"Little Jacob," the unknown child whose body washed ashore in Galveston, has been identified after months of police work -- and his mother and her girlfriend have been arrested.
Four-year-old Jayden Alexander Lopez was dubbed "Little Jacob" after his body was last Oct. 20 along the Galveston shore.
The boy's mother, Rebecca Rivera, and her girlfriend, Dania Amezquita Gomez, both of Houston, have been charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Both are in the Galveston County Jail.
Rivera was arrested Tuesday and is charged with a felony two charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Her bond is set at $250,000.
Gomez was arrested earlier this week and charged with misdemeanor tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Her bond is set at $100,000.
A sketch was released to the public to help identify the body.
Galveston police and the FBI had offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information.
Galveston Police Department Chief Vernon Hale said they got their first lead Jan. 30.
Texas City FBI Agent Bryan Gaines said for the past eight months this was crime they had to solve.
“No one reported Jayden as missing. No one was looking for Jayden,” said Gaines.
He says police were his only advocate.
“Someone took a beautiful innocent child and discarded him in the ocean as if he was a piece of trash,” said Gaines.
Jayden’s body was malnourished, underweight and it had bruises on him prior to his death.
Hale said Jayden was under the care of his mother and her girlfriend at the time.
A 3-year-old was found in the household and reported fine.
The women live in Houston and it appears they only came to Galveston to dump Jayden’s body.
Police say they are still waiting on evidence to come back and determine other charges.
The investigation is ongoing.