'There's no heartbeat': 911 calls shed light on baby girl's death in Durham
A teenage father accused of murdering his baby will be prosecuted as an adult.
James Galan Cruz, 17, was initially facing charges as a juvenile, but is getting prosecuted as an adult due to the severity of the charges.
Cruz will have a court-appointed attorney and his current bond is $1 million.
Durham police said his child, Ana Galan-Rodriguez, was found dead on Feb. 25 in a home on Windrush Lane. However, Cruz was not charged until April.
A death certificate obtained by WRAL News shows Ana was 6 months and 6 days old.
In a 911 call obtained by WRAL News through a records request, the baby’s aunt describes her condition.
“My niece is not breathing … and she’s purple already,” the aunt said. “There’s no heartbeat on her. I need an ambulance.”
Although the 911 dispatcher tried to offer help, the aunt said it was already too late.
“Do you want to try and help her until help gets there or do you think she’s beyond help?” a dispatcher asked the aunt.
“I don’t even feel a heartbeat or anything anymore,” the aunt said.
The suspect's mother Ana Raquel Cruz Calix; father Israel Humberto Cruz; and sister Karen Yaraly-Galan Cruz also face charges of negligent child abuse for leaving the baby with her father, unsupervised, even though the Department of Social Services prohibited it after James Cruz had also been accused of abusing the baby in October 2022.
An arrest warrant shows Calix, mother of the suspect and grandmother of the baby, was inside the home when the baby died.
James Cruz is due back in court on the murder charge in July.
