Digital records and interviews helped build the case against the child’s mother and her boyfriend, police said.
MESA, Ariz. — Internet searches, family statements and medical findings are shaping a Maricopa County murder case against a mother and her boyfriend after a 22-month-old boy died from infected burns.
The evidence described so far comes from police statements, court paperwork and a state fatality summary. Investigators say Artnesia Aaliyah Baptist, 24, and Alexsander Byrne, 21, hid the boy’s severe burns, refused medical care and allowed infection to progress before his April 12 death.
The digital evidence entered the case after detectives obtained search warrants for Byrne’s home, cellphone, Google account and social media accounts, according to court paperwork cited by local reports. Investigators said the internet history included searches about whether first-degree burns can come from a shower, whether second-degree burns can kill a person, and burn cream. Those searches did not stand alone. They were paired with medical findings, alleged statements by Byrne and accounts of what the couple told relatives. Prosecutors are likely to use the searches to show awareness of the child’s condition. Defense lawyers may question who made the searches, when they were made and what they prove.
The emergency call came later. Mesa police officers were sent just after 9 a.m. April 12 to a home near Mesa Drive and McKellips Road after a report that a child was not breathing. Fire and medical personnel transported the toddler to a hospital. He was pronounced dead there. Police said the child was unresponsive and had injuries consistent with burns. That observation led detectives to review the days before the call. They concluded the boy suffered severe liquid burns April 3 while under the care of Baptist and Byrne. Local reports said police identified Byrne as the sole caregiver when the child was injured, while Baptist is accused of later hiding the injuries and not seeking care.
The probable cause affidavit described burns over about 40% of the child’s body. Investigators said the pattern looked like hot or boiling water had been poured over the boy’s head, then flowed down his neck, shoulders, chest, back and hips. The liquid caused skin to loosen and blister, according to the affidavit. Byrne allegedly told investigators he saw “big chunks” of skin coming off during a diaper change. Both Baptist and Byrne denied knowing how the child was burned, police said. The available records do not say that a weapon or container was recovered as the source of the hot water. The child’s identity has not been publicly released in the reports reviewed.
The family statements described by police focus on concealment. Court paperwork said Baptist and Byrne hid the burns from the child’s biological father and threatened to kill him if he tried to pick up the boy. Investigators said Byrne’s parents were told the toddler had a cold. When Byrne’s mother offered to take him to urgent care, the couple allegedly said the child was getting better. Police said the boy was treated at home with burn cream, Tylenol and aloe vera. Byrne allegedly said the child had a fever, vomited and became unable to walk. These statements show why investigators focused not only on the original injury, but on the decisions that followed.
The most direct statement described in court records came after Byrne’s arrest. Police said he gave a recorded post-Miranda interview and admitted that medical treatment was intentionally refused because he thought Child Protective Services would get involved. Court paperwork said Byrne admitted he knew the refusal was wrong and illegal, caused more injury and pain, and caused the death of the child. That statement, if admitted in court, could become one of the prosecution’s strongest pieces of evidence. It also could become the subject of defense motions over wording, context, voluntariness or how much of it applies to Baptist.
The medical examiner’s findings add the timeline prosecutors will need. Police said the child died from severe infection and sepsis. The affidavit said the infection continued spreading and had caused a slow, painful decline for at least 48 hours before death. The court record also described the emergency room scene, saying the odor of infected skin was present and that skin was missing, red and infected across parts of the child’s shoulders, clavicle, sternum, scalp area, back of the neck, back, buttocks and hips. Those facts support the state’s claim that the child needed medical care long before the 9 a.m. emergency call.
Arizona child welfare records give the case another layer. ABC15 reported that the Department of Child Safety had two prior reports involving Baptist within the year before the death. A May 2025 report alleged abuse of another child and was unsubstantiated. A September report alleged neglect tied to a domestic violence incident between Baptist and the boy’s biological father, and DCS said no evidence supported it after an investigation with law enforcement. The agency said the toddler was assessed as safe after Baptist moved out with him and his siblings. After the death, a state fatality summary said DCS filed a dependency petition and placed the siblings with an unlicensed caregiver.
Baptist and Byrne were arrested May 26. Local outlets reported that they faced first-degree murder and child abuse likely to cause death, and court records cited by Law&Crime said they were held on $1 million cash-only bonds. A fatality summary said they were indicted May 29 on one count of first-degree murder and one count of child abuse. The criminal case remains at the allegation stage. Neither defendant has been convicted, and the public reports reviewed do not include a trial date or any plea. The prosecution will have to connect each defendant to the conduct charged, including the burn injury, the alleged concealment and the failure to seek treatment.
The structure of the case points toward a fact-heavy pretrial period. Prosecutors and defense lawyers are expected to review medical records, autopsy findings, digital searches, police interviews, statements to relatives and child welfare files. The search history may help establish knowledge. The medical findings may establish cause of death. The alleged threats and statements may speak to intent and concealment. Each piece will have to be admitted and weighed under court rules before any jury hears it.
As of June 23, Baptist and Byrne remain defendants in a Maricopa County case that began with a child-not-breathing call and became a murder indictment. The next major development is expected through court filings and pretrial hearings.
Author note: Last updated June 23, 2026.