June 20, 2008 - 5:16PM
Jeremy Roebuck

McALLEN -- A mother accused of beating her 2-year-old son to death last week is pregnant with another child, authorities confirmed Friday.

But the state agency charged with ensuring child welfare said it is too soon to tell whether she will be allowed to maintain custody after it is born.

"We will have to assess the situation and explore our options then," said John Lennan, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.

Officers learned of Maria Almaguer's pregnancy soon after her arrest Tuesday in connection with the death of her son Isaias. She told police she is about five months along, McAllen police spokesman Armando Contreras said.

Investigators believe the 30-year-old Mexican national kicked Isaias in the stomach, causing an intestinal laceration that eventually killed him.

Police suspect that wound was one of several he suffered during months of abuse leading up to his death.

The boy was hospitalized twice earlier this year with head injuries and then again earlier this month with a dislocated elbow. One of those hospital visits prompted a state investigation.

Less than two weeks ago, his mother signed an agreement with Child Protective Services saying she would only visit her children under supervision.

Almaguer remained in the Hidalgo County Jail on Friday on a $1 million bond, and authorities are already preparing for a possible jailhouse birth.

CPS has temporarily placed her four other children in foster care, but it is not clear whether the agency will have the authority to remove her new child from her care based on her alleged history of abuse.

Isaias, the son she is accused of killing, was also born while she was in state custody, McAllen police said.

If Almaguer remains in jail, her new child likely will be placed temporarily with family members or in foster care after its birth, said Lennan, the Family and Protective Services spokesman. A judge will have to decide what custody rights she has should she be released.

"These things are decided on a case-by-case basis," Lennan said.

In 2006, a Brownsville mother incarcerated for allegedly biting, burning, shooting and torturing her son to death gave birth to a baby girl while awaiting trial in jail.

Acela Rosalba Moreno, 27, remains in a state prison after pleading guilty to capital murder charges last year. CPS officials declined to say what had happened to the child, citing privacy reasons.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.

http://www.themonitor.com/articles/police_13432___article.html/son_child.html

Emphasis added by H4K Editor