Caretaker gets 15 years in prison for starvation death of 7-year-old who was locked in his room

NEWBURGH, N.Y. (TCD) -- A 40-year-old woman was sentenced to prison this week for her role in the 2021 starvation death of a young boy in her care.

In a statement, the Orange County District Attorney announced a judge handed Leticia Bravo a 15-year sentence plus five years of post-release supervision in connection with 7-year-old Peter Cuacuas' death. She pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in March.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, on Feb. 10, 2021, Bravo brought Peter’s "lifeless body" to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The autopsy revealed he weighed only 37 pounds and his cause of death was determined to be malnutrition.

The Newburgh Police Department and New York State Police began investigating the boy’s death and learned Bravo took care of Peter during the 2020 school year and they lived together at her apartment. On the weekends, they would reportedly stay with Peter’s father and Bravo’s boyfriend, Arturo Cuacuas.

Bravo reportedly kept Peter in a locked bedroom and did not let him log onto virtual school even though his teachers and other school officials reportedly spoke to Bravo about Peter’s absence.

The statement says Bravo "admitted being Peter’s primary caregiver, knowingly under-feeding the seven-year-old, and failing to provide him with medical attention that she knew he required."

In February, Arturo Cuacuas pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide. The District Attorney’s Office says Cuacuas "would see Peter with Bravo once a week and noted his deteriorating condition and failed take appropriate steps to help him."

News 12 Hudson Valley reports Peter’s brother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the school for failing to notify child protective services about Peter’s condition.

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