Bolivian Child in New York Written on October 4, 2005, by Eddie.
Four year-old Valery Belén Saavedra Lozada, a Bolivian child from Cochabamba, was found wandering the lonely streets of Queens, New York at one in the morning last Sunday. The neighbor who found little Valery wondered how in the world a parent could allow her child to be left alone in a city like New York.
A retired firefighter found the little girl when he heard her cries outside of his apartment. Other neighbors pitched in to make sure she was safe and warm. Immediately, the firefighter called 9-1-1 and had said he was hoping for “an innocent explanation,” but feared the worst. Over the course of several days, when no one came to claim the little girl, she became well known to the people of New York City.
She is 4 years old, has a cat named Gary and knows to brush her teeth in the morning. She speaks English and Spanish, loves pizza, hates pickles and says she does not know why the man she calls her father woke her up one night, drove her to a dark street and left her there, alone and barefoot (New York Times).
After an extensive public media campaign to find the mother or anyone who knew anything, a boyfriend stepped forward with information. Cesar Ascarrunz admitted to killing the mother, Monica Rivadinerra Lozada, a Bolivian immigrant from Cochabamba who moved to the United States three years ago. Ascarrunz is currently in custody without bail and has been charged with 2nd-degree murder, evidence tampering and child abandonment.
A law enforcement official said Mr. Ascarrunz told investigators that he and Ms. Lozada-Rivaineira, 26, had gotten into a dispute on Sept. 24. (Earlier in the week the police had identified the woman as Monica Rivadinerra Lozada.) He said he had objected to her staying out all night and to the manner in which she was raising her daughter, Valery Belén Saavedra Lozada.
Mr. Ascarrunz, said the law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, claimed that the woman had tried to attack him with a knife and that he had tried to defend himself with a pillow. The official said the suspect told investigators that he put her into a chokehold and that she went limp. After that, the official quoted him as saying, she was not breathing (New York Times).
Little Valery’s plight attracted a lot of attention in New York and was published in a series of articles in the New York Times. Over 100 individuals offered to adopt the little girl, who is now in custody of a foster family. Officials say that a counselor, who is an expert on trauma, will break the news to the little girl that her mother is dead.
Companion Killed Mother of Queens Girl, Police Say
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This is one sad story that’s taken a lot of Bolivians by surprise. Not that human nature is any different because we are from Bolivia, but one doesn’t come across things like this involving Bolivians.
Probably one thing that’s missing from your entry is that the guy who allegedly killed her (the body hasn’t been found yet) is also from Bolivia and is believed to be a doctor.
I feel for the little girl, she looks so sweet. Having kids of my own I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of trauma this will cause her.