DENVER – A couple was arrested in connection with the January death of a 5-year-old from Colorado Springs, police said in a news release Thursday.
The arrest stems from a monthslong investigation which began following the death of 5-year-old Emily Canales on Jan. 13.
An autopsy performed on the girl revealed the child died from multiple blunt force injuries, and her death was ruled a homicide by the El Paso County Coroner’s Office on June 14 – more than six months after her death.
The investigation from the Colorado Springs Police Department continued, and on June 28, detectives were granted arrest warrants for first-degree murder for both Brianne Escamilla, 27, and 26-year-old Matthew Urias, the mother of the child and the mother’s boyfriend, according to police.
Urias was taken into custody on June 29 by the CSPD’s Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force, while Escamilla was taken into custody by the Littleton Police Department on July 5.
Details about what led to the child’s death were not immediately available.
Her death is the 26th homicide investigation in Colorado Springs, according to police. At this time last year, the CSPD was investigating 21 homicides.
Anyone with information or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000; or if you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-7867 or 1-800-222-8477.
