The father accused of killing his six week old infant in February of 2017, is set to appear in El Paso County court on Tuesday afternoon.
Police arrested then 21-year-old John Ostrander and 23-year-old Donica Mirabal, six months after the child died. Both parents are charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death.
Colorado Springs Police and firefighters responded to an apartment in the 1500 block of S. 8th St. to investigate an unresponsive six-week-old child. Authorities found that the child had died.
Detectives then began an investigation into the child’s death, which resulted with the arrests at the same apartment.
Released court documents stated the parents of Zayden Ostrander didn’t provide adequate care for their child, which led to his death.
An affidavit released said an investigation revealed "prolonged, intentional neglect/lack of care on the part of the caretakers."
The documents claim the boy’s mother, Donica Mirabal, consistently smoked Marijuana while she was pregnant, leading to a premature birth of the child. Mirabal also said she did not bond with the child and had no attachment to him after he was born.
Mirabal said she thought Zayden grew "sicker and sicker." after she brought him home from the hospital. The documents went on to say Mirabal’s mother claimed Ostrander and Mirabal fed the boy "gummy snacks".
Mirabal said the couple discussed taking him to the hospital two days before his death, but decided against it. Police said Mirabal told them that he wasn’t eating, crying or had wet diapers on the day before he died, and said the boy was pale and limp.
