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HAWAII POLICE DEPARTMENT
Xavier J. Cortez Jr. was arrested by Hawaii island police today in the death of a 19-month-old toddler in 2011.
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A 38-year-old Mountain View man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the 2011 murder of a 19-month-old toddler in Hilo.
Xavier J. Cortez Jr., also known as Pee Wee Cortez, is being held at Hawaii Community Correctional Center on a charge of second-degree murder. His bail was set at $1 million.
At 9:40 a.m. Tuesday, police, armed with an arrest warrant, acted on a tip and took Cortez into custody at a home in the Livingston subdivision in Mountain View.
On Jan. 2, 2011, police received a report that 19-month-old Pomaikai Ferreira had been taken to Hilo Medical Center and was experiencing difficulties breathing. She was transferred by air ambulance to the Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu, where she died seven days later, police said.
The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Ferreira ruled the death a homicide as a result of craniocerebral injuries due to, or as a consequence of, abusive head trauma.
Cortez was initially arrested for first-degree assault on the day of the incident. He was later released pending further investigation by detectives. Cortez was the boyfriend of the toddler’s mother.
On Jan. 22 a Hawaii County grand jury indicted Cortez on the second-degree murder charge, but the indictment was sealed pending Cortez’s arrest.