THE DARK SIDE OF IOWA
Unsolved
Manuel Ramirez
photo courtesy Iowa Cold Cases
On Monday night, March 7, 2011, Sioux City police responded to a 911 call from 1417 Virginia Street, where they found 6-year-old Manuel Ramirez dead in the bathtub. Officers administered CPR but were unable to revive the Irving Elementary School first-grader.
Manuel’s stepmother, Maria Miranda, told investigators she was watching television with other children downstairs while Manuel was bathing alone upstairs. Authorities said Manuel’s 12-year-old sister called 911 about 9 PM Monday night. Officers at the scene were told Manuel had drowned, but Sioux City police said evidence did not point to drowning. Manuel’s cause of death was listed is being consistent with asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, though the manner of death could not be determined.
Manuel’s father, Jose de Los Santos, was in jail at the time of his son’s death, held on federal immigration charges. Following Manuel’s death, Jose was deported and investigators believe Miranda also returned to Mexico.
Manuel was six years old when he was buried in an unmarked grave. His body is in the Marian Section of Calvary Cemetery, placed there free of charge by the Catholic cemetery. The section, dubbed Babyland by the cemetery staff, is for young children, stillborn infants and abandoned fetuses.
Those who watch over the graves say Manuel’s burial spot doesn’t get many visits. Over the Christmas holidays, someone placed stuffed toys and figurines on the boy’s grave. The gifts were left anonymously.
Investigators with DHS placed blame on Miranda, saying in the report she denied Manuel critical care, the agency’s term for neglect. The report also cites a “preponderance of evidence that she is responsible” and says information suggests she was “either overtly or covertly” involved in his death. Miranda didn’t have a reasonable explanation for the boy’s death and was the person supervising him at the time, and medical reports showed he did not drown, according to the DHS report.
The report also notes a long history of unexplained injuries to Manuel and the family’s expressed dislike for him. No one, including Miranda, has been charged in the case. Police and prosecutors won’t say if she is a suspect. The police chief said Manuel’s case appears to be one in which one member of a family as viewed as an outsider. Manuel doesn’t have any relatives or other advocates pushing the police department, which the police chief said is rare but sometimes happens when an outsider is brought into a family.
It was later determined that the toys left on Manuel’s grave over Christmas likely were from people moved by a segment on KMEG-TV. The station aired a story about Manuel’s death. Viewers later raised money for a bronze grave marker.
Anyone with information about Manuel’s unsolved death is urged to contact the Sioux City Police Department at 712.279.6440.
Manuel’s stepmother, Maria Miranda, told investigators she was watching television with other children downstairs while Manuel was bathing alone upstairs. Authorities said Manuel’s 12-year-old sister called 911 about 9 PM Monday night. Officers at the scene were told Manuel had drowned, but Sioux City police said evidence did not point to drowning. Manuel’s cause of death was listed is being consistent with asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, though the manner of death could not be determined.
Manuel’s father, Jose de Los Santos, was in jail at the time of his son’s death, held on federal immigration charges. Following Manuel’s death, Jose was deported and investigators believe Miranda also returned to Mexico.
Manuel was six years old when he was buried in an unmarked grave. His body is in the Marian Section of Calvary Cemetery, placed there free of charge by the Catholic cemetery. The section, dubbed Babyland by the cemetery staff, is for young children, stillborn infants and abandoned fetuses.
Those who watch over the graves say Manuel’s burial spot doesn’t get many visits. Over the Christmas holidays, someone placed stuffed toys and figurines on the boy’s grave. The gifts were left anonymously.
Investigators with DHS placed blame on Miranda, saying in the report she denied Manuel critical care, the agency’s term for neglect. The report also cites a “preponderance of evidence that she is responsible” and says information suggests she was “either overtly or covertly” involved in his death. Miranda didn’t have a reasonable explanation for the boy’s death and was the person supervising him at the time, and medical reports showed he did not drown, according to the DHS report.
The report also notes a long history of unexplained injuries to Manuel and the family’s expressed dislike for him. No one, including Miranda, has been charged in the case. Police and prosecutors won’t say if she is a suspect. The police chief said Manuel’s case appears to be one in which one member of a family as viewed as an outsider. Manuel doesn’t have any relatives or other advocates pushing the police department, which the police chief said is rare but sometimes happens when an outsider is brought into a family.
It was later determined that the toys left on Manuel’s grave over Christmas likely were from people moved by a segment on KMEG-TV. The station aired a story about Manuel’s death. Viewers later raised money for a bronze grave marker.
Anyone with information about Manuel’s unsolved death is urged to contact the Sioux City Police Department at 712.279.6440.
Source: Iowa Cold Cases