When you bring a child into the world, most parents are elated. As you hold that tiny person in your arms, you cannot fathom doing anything other than loving them unconditionally. You could never think about hurting them. But sadly, that is not always the case. It’s hard to understand what kind of person could willingly inflict harm on a helpless newborn. Unfortunately, those people will always exist. Felipe Arroyo Jr., a man living in Portland, Oregon, is facing murder charges after allegedly murdering his newborn son.
Not many details about what he may have done have been given, but the baby died as a result of blunt force trauma. You can certainly draw your own conclusions.
On May 4, 2025, detectives from the Portland Police Bureau’s Child Abuse team were alerted to a newborn at a local hospital, the bureau noted in a news release. The baby, Arlo Darnielle-Arroyo, was hospitalized after sustaining “life-threatening injuries” deemed “suspicious in nature.”
Four days later, on May 8, the baby died at only 15 days old. Given the circumstances of the baby’s death, the bureau’s Homicide Unit took over investigating the case.
Us Weekly reported that police didn’t state exactly what kind of injuries the baby received. But for an infant so young, even a small amount of physical abuse could be enough to cause major damage.
Although police didn’t give details about Arlo’s death, the medical examiner’s investigation revealed he died of homicide by blunt force trauma, the bureau shared in its release.
The investigation into Arlo’s death took months as police gathered evidence. On December 8, 2025, the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested the baby’s father, 38-year-old Felipe Arroyo Jr., in connection with his death.
“In November, after a months-long investigation, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office presented evidence to a Grand Jury that returned an indictment for the following: Murder in the Second Degree (three counts), Assault in the First Degree, Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree (two counts), Attempted Coercion (two counts), and Witness Tampering,” the release read.
Details about the charges were not given.
Arroyo is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center. The bureau is asking that anyone with information about the case contact [email protected] or 503-823-0479 and reference case number 25-116240.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
