Prosecutors said Ezequiel Ramirez was on parole when Joziah Ramirez was killed.
VISALIA, Calif. — A Tulare County father who prosecutors said was barred by parole from contact with his toddler son was sentenced to life without parole for the child’s torture murder.
The sentence imposed on Ezequiel Carlos Ramirez brought together a murder case, prior convictions, parole restrictions and prostitution-related charges that prosecutors said surrounded Joziah Ramirez’s death. Ramirez, now 28, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture and seven felony counts of pimping, pandering and soliciting for prostitution. The court added 35 years to the life-without-parole term. Joziah’s mother, Jasmine Blase, is scheduled for a separate sentencing after pleading guilty to felony child endangerment.
Prosecutors said Ramirez had impregnated Blase when she was 15. By June 2020, when Joziah was killed, Ramirez was on parole for robbery and statutory rape. A parole term prohibited him from contacting Blase and Joziah, prosecutors said, but he was in contact with them and living with them. Authorities said Blase had turned 18 and that Ramirez was engaged in pimping her out along with at least one other woman in Tulare and Fresno counties. That exploitation case became part of the same final plea that resolved the killing. Ramirez admitted seven felony counts connected to prostitution activity in addition to admitting murder with torture.
The fatal events unfolded June 5, 2020. Prosecutors said Ramirez, Blase and Joziah moved from a Fresno hotel to a Visalia motel to continue Ramirez’s pimping and pandering operation. Blase left the room. While she was away, Ramirez severely abused the 23-month-old, authorities said. He did not seek medical help. Instead, prosecutors said, he messaged Blase to come back. She returned to find Joziah unresponsive and breathing irregularly. Blood was on bedding and elsewhere in the room. Ramirez told her he had only kicked the toddler in the stomach and refused to let her call an ambulance, prosecutors said. He then called a family friend and claimed the child had fallen down stairs.
Investigators later described a sequence of actions that they said showed Ramirez trying to distance himself from the scene. Prosecutors said he deleted information from Blase’s phone before leaving the motel. Surveillance footage recorded him walking away. Police and emergency services arrived around 11 p.m., minutes after he fled. Joziah was taken to Kaweah Health Medical Center and later airlifted to Valley Children’s Hospital. He was pronounced brain-dead and died June 9. Later the night of the attack, Ramirez sent Blase messages saying “I’m gone,” “I’ll never see u again” and “I’m so sorry.” Prosecutors said those messages became part of a record that also included surveillance footage, medical findings and later admissions.
The medical findings were central to the charge that Joziah was tortured. Prosecutors said he had fractures to both sides of his skull, brain swelling and bleeding, fractures to both sides of his ribcage, and bruises, burns and abrasions on his extremities, limbs, torso and genitals. Authorities said the injuries were consistent with being struck, shaken, thrown, kicked and burned. The autopsy found blunt force trauma to the head as the cause of death. Prosecutors said the injuries were inflicted and non-accidental. They also said abuse had been ongoing. Blase told investigators that Ramirez had verbally abused Joziah and had lifted him off the ground by his hair. Authorities said Joziah was almost potty-trained and was known as smart and active.
After the motel attack, prosecutors said Ramirez called a friend in Fresno and said he had been in a car crash and needed a ride. During the drive back to Fresno, he was emotional and repeated that he did not have to do it, authorities said. He stayed overnight with the friend and then left the next morning. Prosecutors said he left behind a duffel bag with clothing spotted with blood. Law enforcement searched for him for about four days. Prosecutors said that during that time, he continued trying to recruit women into his prostitution operation. He was arrested June 9, 2020. Joziah died the same day after being declared brain-dead at the hospital.
The statements Ramirez gave after arrest shifted as investigators presented evidence, prosecutors said. He first claimed he had no knowledge of what happened and denied being around his son. After he was confronted, he admitted being present but said he had not hurt Joziah “that bad” and “didn’t cause that much damage.” Prosecutors said the medical record showed otherwise. Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward later described the defendant’s conduct as brutal and callous. Ward said Joziah had been bloodied, burned, bruised and broken by the person who should have been his protector and caregiver. The remarks followed Ramirez’s guilty plea and the court’s life-without-parole sentence.
The criminal case was filed June 11, 2020, when Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward announced charges against Ramirez and Blase. Each was charged with murder, assault on a child causing death and torture. Ramirez also faced the special circumstance of murder with torture, plus allegations tied to prior felonies and a prior strike. Prosecutors said then that Blase faced life in prison if convicted and Ramirez faced death or life in prison without parole. The case did not go to trial. Ramirez pleaded guilty in March 2026 to the murder and prostitution-related counts. Blase pleaded guilty in 2021 to felony child endangerment, with prosecutors saying she failed to protect Joziah from Ramirez.
At sentencing, Joziah’s family told prosecutors that the case brought resolution, not closure. Blase’s June 17, 2026, sentencing remains the next scheduled hearing. Ramirez’s judgment now stands at life without parole plus 35 years in Tulare County Superior Court.
Author note: Last updated June 21, 2026.