On Sunday, June 16th, the 4-year-old victim involved in this case passed away. Due to her passing, Destiny F. Rhoades’ original charge of Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in SBI is changed to Neglect of a Dependent Resulting in Death, a level 1 felony. The 16-year-old offender in this case and Rhoades’ boyfriend, Christian T. Gonzalez, appeared in juvenile court this afternoon and has been waived to adult court. His original charge of Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury is changed to Murder, a level 1 felony, and has been transported to the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center. An autopsy is scheduled to take place this week for the victim; however, the Coroner’s Office has released the name of the 4-year-old. Her name is Octavia Aquino.
This morning, around 9:00 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 4500-block of Spring Valley Road for a medical emergency reference a female not breathing. The reporter stated she found her roommate’s 4-year-old daughter unresponsive and ‘beyond help’ in the apartment. The arriving officer found the child to be ‘cold to the touch.’ The Evansville Fire Department began working to revive the child. She was transported to the hospital and at this time she is still alive but has very little brain activity. The mother, Destiny F. Rhoades (23), was at work when her daughter was found, and returned to the apartment. Rhoades’ 16-year-old boyfriend was located inside of the apartment along with three other adult females who also reside there. All four adult residents were transported to EPD headquarters and interviewed by detectives. The 16-year-old was not interviewed due to his age.
Detectives uncovered details of incidents involving Rhoades and her juvenile boyfriend since they arrived in Evansville together earlier this year. In February, officers located the 16-year-old juvenile male, who was 15 at the time, after he was reported missing from Fort Wayne, IN. Due to a missing person case being a status offense, officers placed him at Hillcrest Youth Home. He fled the building shortly after. Officers located him again, this time in the company of Rhoades at her residence. He was placed at the Youth Care Center (YCC) and eventually transported back to Fort Wayne. Rhoades was arrested for Contributing to Delinquency of a Minor, a level 4 felony, at that time (case #24-03473). When she was released from jail, she returned to Fort Wayne until her pending court date, around April 11th. Her 16-year-old boyfriend went missing, again, around the time she returned to Evansville for court.
While interviewing Rhoades she stated she went to work around 7:00 a.m. and reported that her daughter was asleep at that time. A roommate stated that she noticed the child had bruises on her body yesterday, specifically around her neck area. She also had a human bite mark on her forearm. Detectives were told the 16-year-old boyfriend admitted he bit the child, but only after she bit him first. A roommate reported that the child seemed to be ‘staring off and was nauseous’ while in Rhoades’ care last night. All three of these circumstances went unreported to law enforcement or medical staff during their occurrence.
Rhoades has been arrested on the following charges and booked in at the Vanderburgh County Detention Center:
1) Family Offense – Neglect of a Dependent (Resulting in SBI)/Child Violations (L3 Felony)
2) Family Offense – Contributing to Delinquency of a Minor (A Misdemeanor)
3) Family Offense – Invasion of Privacy (A Misdemeanor)
The juvenile male has been arrested on the following charges and booked in at YCC:
1) Battery – Serious Bodily Injury (Level 5 Felony)
2) Public Administration – False Informing (B Misdemeanor)
This is a very disturbing case that could lead to the death of a 4-year-old and additional felony charges.
Should the arresting offenses change, and the juvenile male is waved to adult court, his name will be released atcthat time. The detectives that comprise EPD’s Juvenile Unit and Adult Investigations Unit Detectives worked diligently today on these two arrests.
