Orange County detectives searching for man suspected in 2004 cold case murder of baby boy

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Orange County detectives are asking for the public's help to solve a 2004 cold case.

On Sept. 15, 2004, Marily Alvirio left her 8-month-old baby boy, Erick, with her boyfriend, Ismael Hernandez.

"She left the residence to run errands, leaving the baby in the care of Hernandez," said Detective Gus Moroyoqui, a member of the newly formed Orange County Cold Case Homicide Task Force.

Several hours later when Alvirio returned to her apartment in Santa Ana, Hernandez told her Erick was asleep and shouldn't be disturbed. Hernandez then told her he was leaving to run errands.

She eventually checked on baby Erick, who was not breathing. She immediately called 911.

"I felt despair for the baby and guilty for leaving him," Alvirio said.

Detectives say Hernandez is suspected of beating Erick and taking or destroying photos of the baby. The only photo the mother has left is of the baby at his funeral.

Paramedics rushed Erick to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead soon after.

"[He had] head trauma, sustained some broken ribs and also a torn heart," Moroyoqui said.

A warrant was issued for Hernandez's arrest and officers launched a manhunt. But, he had disappeared. With no clues or signs of their suspect, the case went cold.

Until recently, when Moroyoqui and the Orange County Homicide Task Force began digging.

Hernandez, also known as Jorge Delgado, is from Guerrero, Mexico, but new information and tips lead officers to believe he's running free in the U.S.

They want the public's help to find him, and bring some peace to a grieving mother.

"Wherever you are, we will find you, eventually we will find you, and you will pay for what you did," Alvirio said.

Anyone with information on Hernandez's whereabouts is asked to call the Orange County Homicide Task Force at (866) 673-2574 or visit the website, OCHTF.org.