Overview

• Hilda Vásquez, 34, is jailed without bond on counts of negligent homicide and second-degree cruelty to a minor after an Orleans Parish court appearance.
• Judge Jonathan Friedman ordered her to remain in custody and barred contact with her three surviving children as the investigation proceeds.
• Police said Bryan Vásquez, 12, drowned after blunt-force trauma attributed to a caiman, and his body was recovered from a Michoud lagoon nearly two weeks after he left home.
• Court and child-welfare records detail earlier abuse and neglect investigations, including 2014 injuries, plus cocaine positives this year for Vásquez and a younger child.
• Doorbell video around 5 a.m. on August 14 showed the autistic boy walking alone after leaving his bedroom, and the search drew neighbors and volunteer groups as wildlife officials later removed caimans from the lagoon, with residents criticizing delays in the initial police response.