Police said the 8-month-old boy died three days after he was found unresponsive.
CHARLOTTE, NC — A Charlotte father has been charged with murder and felony child abuse after police said his 8-month-old son died from nonaccidental trauma following an emergency call earlier this month.
Nieves Alexander Acosta-Maldonado, 27, was arrested May 13 after Charlotte-Mecklenburg police detectives interviewed him at the Law Enforcement Center. The child, Ethan Mato Acosta-Palos, died May 6 at a hospital, three days after officers and medics responded to a home on Kirt Court. Police said the case began as a medical call before child abuse detectives and homicide investigators took over.
North Tryon Division officers were first sent May 3 to the 1000 block of Kirt Court for an assist medic call. Police said the infant was found there and taken to a local hospital with injuries later described as nonaccidental trauma. Detectives with the Crimes Against Children unit opened an investigation while Ethan was still being treated. After the child died May 6, homicide detectives joined the case. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officials said the abuse was later traced to the 3000 block of North Sharon Amity Road in the Hickory Grove Division. Police said Ethan’s next of kin was notified after the arrest.
Court records described by local outlets said the child was taken to Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Medical staff reported findings that included subdural hematomas and retinal hemorrhages, injuries often reviewed by child protection specialists in suspected abusive head trauma cases. Investigators said Acosta-Maldonado was caring for the baby while the child’s mother was at work. According to the affidavit, he told detectives Ethan was fussy and became sick. Police said he described picking the child up from a crib several times and forcefully placing him back into it during one of those moments.
The affidavit also said Acosta-Maldonado told investigators he dropped the infant on the third occasion, then picked him up and shook him for 10 to 15 seconds until the baby stopped crying. Detectives consulted with the Atrium Health Child Protection Team, which advised that the child’s injuries were consistent with shaking or forcefully throwing an infant down onto a surface with impact to the head. Police have not released every detail of the medical findings, and the full investigative file remains active. Officials have not said whether any other person is under investigation.
The case moved from an emergency response to a homicide investigation over 10 days. Officers responded May 3, Ethan died May 6, and detectives identified Acosta-Maldonado as a suspect May 13. Police said he was interviewed at the Law Enforcement Center before being arrested and transferred to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. The charges listed by police are murder and felony child abuse. Local reports citing court documents said the murder count was filed as first-degree murder. Prosecutors will decide how the case moves through Mecklenburg County Superior Court.
The two locations named by police are several miles apart in northeast and east Charlotte. Kirt Court, where the medical call began, sits near the North Tryon corridor. North Sharon Amity Road runs through the Hickory Grove area, where police said the incident originated. The department identified Detective McCall as the lead homicide detective. CMPD said the investigation remains active and that more information will be released by the department’s Public Affairs Division as it develops.
No public statement from Acosta-Maldonado’s attorney was included in the initial police release. Police also did not release comments from Ethan’s family. The court documents described by local outlets provided the clearest account so far of what investigators believe happened inside the home. The affidavit’s account centers on the baby’s crying, the crib and the force police say was used before the child became unresponsive. The arrest came during the same week police confirmed Ethan’s death had become a homicide case.
Acosta-Maldonado remained in the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office after his arrest. The next milestone is the court process in Mecklenburg County, where prosecutors are expected to present the murder and felony child abuse charges.
Author note: Last updated May 15, 2026.