Aurora police say two adults now face charges after a child died from injuries.
AURORA, Colo. — The death of a 4-year-old boy moved from a late-night medical call to a two-defendant criminal case after police said discipline at an Aurora apartment turned fatal.
The case began May 16, when officers were sent to an apartment on East Tennessee Avenue for a child who was unconscious and not breathing. It now includes a first-degree murder charge against Alexander Martinez-Armstrong, 24, and a child abuse resulting in death charge against the boy’s mother, Destini Rose Lipsky, 23. Police say the child had been left with Martinez-Armstrong for what investigators described as a “boot camp” discipline arrangement.
The first stage was the emergency response. Officers and medical crews arrived around 10 p.m. in the 14100 block of East Tennessee Avenue and found the child with severe injuries. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Police have not publicly named the boy. The department said Martinez-Armstrong was at the apartment and was not the child’s father. Investigators interviewed him, and police later said he acknowledged striking the boy. By the next day, the Aurora Police Department had announced that its Major Crime Homicide Unit had arrested him in the child’s beating death.
The second stage was the search for how the child came to be there. Reports describing court records said Lipsky had dropped off or left her son with Martinez-Armstrong because she wanted him to correct the child’s behavior. The listed behavior included lying, not listening, getting into her purse and taking candy. Those details put the focus on the adults’ decisions before the fatal night. Investigators said the boy was placed into a private discipline routine rather than a formal program. Martinez-Armstrong was described in reports as the child’s godfather and as someone Lipsky considered close, like a brother.
The third stage was the evidence from the apartment and the witness accounts. Reports citing the arrest affidavit said the child had bruising from head to toe, including marks that appeared to come from a belt or similar object. A witness identified as Martinez-Armstrong’s girlfriend told investigators she heard the boy screaming from another room while Martinez-Armstrong punished him. She described the child writing numbers and being hit on bare skin. The reported affidavit said Martinez-Armstrong admitted striking the child at least 21 times with a belt on the day he died. Police have said the official cause and manner of death would be determined by the coroner.
The fourth stage came nearly a week later, when police arrested Lipsky in Colorado Springs. Aurora police said her arrest followed continued investigation into the boy’s death. Reports citing court records said she allowed Martinez-Armstrong to discipline the child and gave permission for punishments such as whipping, spanking, push-ups, planks and wall-sits. The charge against her does not say she delivered the fatal blows. It alleges child abuse resulting in death, a charge that can be tied to a caregiver’s actions or failures when a child is placed in danger and dies.
The charges set up two related but different legal tracks. Martinez-Armstrong faces the allegation that he killed the child by beating him. Lipsky faces the allegation that she helped create or allowed the dangerous circumstances. Prosecutors may use the same facts in both cases, including the child’s injuries, the alleged permission to discipline him, witness statements and any statements the defendants gave police. Defense lawyers may challenge the meaning of those statements, the timeline, each defendant’s mental state and what each adult knew before the child stopped breathing.
Bond and custody also differ. Martinez-Armstrong was held without bond in Arapahoe County after his arrest, according to local reports. Lipsky was held on $500,000 bond after being taken into custody in Colorado Springs while awaiting transfer to Arapahoe County. Public reports did not show that either defendant had entered a plea. Early hearings in serious felony cases often address advisement, bond, appointment or entry of counsel, evidence deadlines and whether prosecutors have enough evidence to move forward. In a child death case, medical records and expert findings often become central before trial decisions are made.
The case has also drawn attention because the alleged reason for the discipline was ordinary child behavior. The boy was described in reports from court records as sneaking candy and entering a purse, among other conduct. Police did not describe a child welfare placement, court order or school discipline process. They described adults who knew the child and an apartment where the punishment was carried out. The “boot camp” phrase, while vivid, refers to the adults’ alleged label for the discipline, not a facility. That distinction may be important as prosecutors describe what authority Martinez-Armstrong had and how he allegedly used it.
Several facts remain outside the public record. Police have not said whether the boy had siblings, whether any agency had previous contact with the family, or how long the alleged discipline plan had been in place. The department has not publicly released all witness statements. The coroner’s final findings may answer some medical questions but will not answer every question about the decisions that brought the child to the apartment. The criminal filings and future hearings are expected to provide a fuller timeline if prosecutors proceed toward trial.
For now, two adults were charged, the child’s name had not been publicly released by police, and the case was awaiting its next steps in Arapahoe County court. The coroner’s final report and upcoming hearings remain the next key records.
Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.