Father sentenced in 2020 death of toddler

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A 25-year-old Fort Wayne man who pleaded guilty to neglect in his son’s death has been sentenced.

On Aug. 8, Trevon Bishop pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury.

In court on Tuesday, Bishop was sentenced to spend 4 years behind bars and 1 year on probation.

Court documents say police were called on October 22, 2020, to a Fort Wayne home for an EMS assist. When they arrived they found multiple people trying to do CPR on a small child who was later pronounced dead at the scene. The next day, the coroner’s office identified the child as 19-month-old Elias Paez, saying he died of abusive injuries, and police named his father Trevon Bishop as a person of interest in the case.

Family of Elias Paez sent WPTA the following statement on Tuesday regarding Bishop’s sentencing:

A probable cause affidavit says police spoke with a witness on Oct. 22, 2020, who said she heard Elias’ mother discover him and start screaming. She said she heard Bishop’s mother telling Elias’ mother, “why did you leave him with my son? You know what happened last time.” Police then spoke with another woman who said she was told Trevon had hit Elias before. Elias’ mother told police Bishop would threaten her and hit Elias if she did anything.

Bishop told police he went to check on Elias the morning of the incident, saying he looked “discolored and stiff”. He said he thought he should call an EMS but felt he needed to talk to the boy’s mother first. He said he met her at a store because he didn’t want to tell her about the injuries over the phone. He claimed he did not know the boy was dead when he went to talk to her.

If you feel overwhelmed for any reason and need a temporary break from your children, you can call the Daybreak Crisis Homes at (260) 421-5004 for help. Your name will not go into a database.

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