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Beaten Tot Has Died, Deputies Say

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By NEIL JOHNSON

njohnson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 10, 2009

TAMPA - When 2-year-old Gabrielle Randel didn't go to sleep easily Saturday night, deputies say, her mother's boyfriend picked her up, wrapped her in a towel and began to beat her.

As Kenneth Lopez hit the tiny wrapped figure, Gabrielle stopped crying, authorities say.

Sometime that night - authorities don't know whether it was during the beating or later - the toddler stopped breathing.

On Sunday, she was pronounced dead.

Lopez, 21, has been charged with aggravated child abuse. The sheriff's office says the charges might be upgraded after an autopsy determines how Gabrielle died.

Until then, Lopez will be held at Orient Road Jail with no bail set.

Lopez is the live-in boyfriend of the girl's mother, Danielle McCleary.

The sheriff's office said the beating occurred Saturday when the girl did not want to go to sleep and would not stop crying. Lopez wrapped a white towel and a blanket around her arms and torso, then hit her repeatedly, the sheriff's office said.

The girl's mother called authorities at 5 a.m. Sunday when she noticed the toddler was not breathing, said Debbie Carter, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. Gabrielle was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital. She was declared dead about 1 p.m. Sunday.

Carter did not know how much time passed between the beating and when the mother noticed the girl was not breathing.

The couple had been living in Room 108 of Homestead Inn at 5401 Beaumont Center Blvd. for about two weeks after moving from Illinois, the sheriff's office said.

The arrest report for Lopez lists the hotel room as his address.

Lopez told investigators he wrapped the girl in the towel and blanket and hit her "because she did not want to go to sleep and she would not stop crying," according to the sheriff's office.

McCleary's 3-year-old son was in the room during the beating and is in the custody of the Department of Children & Families, authorities said.

In similar cases, Hillsborough Kids Inc., an agency under contract to handle child welfare services, first tries to find a family member to care for the child, said Terry Field, DCF spokesman.

The agency first determines whether a family member's household is a safe environment. That investigation can be expedited, Field said.

A child also can be placed with a licensed foster family or could be returned to a parent after he or she is deemed capable of caring for the child.

"We always err on the side of caution," Field said.

He could give no further detail's about McCleary's son.

No one answered a knock at the motel room door Monday evening.

News Channel 8 reporter Samara Sodos contributed to this report. Reporter Neil Johnson can be reached at (813) 259-7731.

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