Coroner rules Las Vegas infant died of blunt force head, neck trauma

The Clark County coroner’s office has determined that a 2-month-old Las Vegas boy, who died in October after what officials at the time said was reported to police as a near-drowning, actually died of blunt force head and neck trauma.

Just before 9:40 a.m. on Oct. 5, Las Vegas police and first responders rushed to the 5400 block of South Durango Drive, near Russell Road, after a 911 call reporting “a child in physical distress due to a possible near drowning incident,” according to Las Vegas police call logs and records from the Clark County Department of Family Services.

The infant, Jocai Davis, was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead two days later.

Both the Metropolitan Police Department and the Department of Family Services opened investigations into the youth’s death, as is protocol for child fatalities.

But on Thursday, more than 9 months after the purported drowning, the coroner’s office ruled Jocai’s death a homicide.

At the time of his death, Jocai’s family had no prior history with Child Protective Service, records show.

No arrests have been made in the case as of Friday.

Metro spokeswoman Alejandra Zambrano said the department’s abuse and neglect team declined to release further details Friday, citing an open investigation.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter. Review-Journal intern Sabrina Schnur contributed to this report.