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Mother of Jacksonville 4-year-old who died in April says the boy’s tragic death could have been avoided

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The mother of 4-year-old James Reese Jr. is speaking out after the death of her son nearly a month ago.

This comes just two days after two suspects linked to his death were arrested.

The young boy died on April 21 from severe injuries — he was taken off life support while at Wolfson Children’s Hospital.

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His mother, Karissa Garcia, said one of the hardest days of her life was seeing her little boy die in her arms.

“They took him off, brought a chair in and put him in my arms and he stayed with me for about 30 minutes,” Garcia said. “He fought as much as he could.”

Her son, James Reese Jr. is described as someone who was full of life — a life Garcia says was taken far too soon.

“When I got the call ... when my case worker supervisor called me, I was screaming and hollering,” she said.

Two people have been arrested in connection with James’ death.

Alexander Pino, 30, was arrested for second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse and Michelle Sipko, 38, was arrested and charged with manslaughter and aggravated child neglect.

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Action News Jax found court documents showing Garcia was a victim of domestic violence and she said because of that, she didn’t have custody of her four children.

“They told me I couldn’t keep them safe, so they removed my kids from me,” Garcia said. “I wind up putting them here and there and now my son is gone.”

Garcia tells Action News Jax the death has been tough on her entire family. She said the last time she spoke to James was the Monday before he died over a Zoom call.

“He didn’t want to talk, he was crying,” Garcia said. “He looked like he wasn’t either feeling good or in pain because he had a lump on his forehead.”

She said justice is moving in the right direction for her son after two suspects were arrested but she believes it’s something that could have been avoided.

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