LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) - A trial for a Lufkin man accused of intentionally burning a child in a bathtub has been set for January.
A pre-trial hearing for Miguel Gonzalez took place Thursday before 159th District Judge Todd Kassaw. Gonzalez will also have another pre-trial hearing Oct. 23 before his trial is expected to take place.
Gonzalez was arrested in 2022 after his girlfriend’s child suffered severe burns. According to arrest documents at the time, Gonzalez told investigators he was giving the child a bath while the child’s mother was at work. Gonzalez claimed he put the child in lukewarm water and walked away “within earshot of the bathroom for 2 minutes” to talk to his roommate in the adjacent hallway. However, when he went to check on the child he saw that the child had managed to turn on the hot water, resulting in burns so severe their skin began peeling off.
But Lufkin police at the time said investigators determined the nature of the child’s injuries were consistent with known cases of immersion abuse, noted by the lack of any burn injuries from the child’s upper torso and above, as well as the lack of any burns that would have been sustained from the child splashing around had they been left unattended.
Investigators concluded at the time that, given the child’s age, there was little chance the child would not have screamed in pain or would not have attempted to get out of the bathtub on their own.