Austin man pleads guilty in beating death of girlfriend's 2-year-old brother

AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin man has pled guilty to murder in the 2018 beating death of his girlfriend's two-year-old brother.

Miguel Berumen-Zepeda, 26, was sentenced to 40 years in prison and must serve 20 years before he is eligible for parole.

According to the Travis County District Attorney's Office, Berumen-Zepeda entered the plea on Jan. 17 before 403rd District Court Judge Brenda Kennedy through an agreement with Travis County prosecutors and waived his right to an appeal.

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In June 2018, Austin police responded to an apartment complex in the 6400 block of Springdale Road in East Austin. Police say Noel Leal died from blunt force trauma while in the care of Berumen-Zepeda and Selissa Flores, Noel's 22-year-old sister, says the district attorney's office.

APD said when paramedics arrived, Noel was already rigid and was pronounced deceased. 

Through interviews, investigators learned Flores was babysitting Noel when at some point between the evening of June 1 and the afternoon of June 2, Noel received trauma to his head and body and died, according to court documents. An autopsy showed Noel had a fractured skull.

RELATED: Father of two-year-old abused to death says there were signs

Flores told police she and Berumen-Zepeda "cleaned up the scene" before they called 911, according to APD. 

“Subsequent interviews of Miguel Zepeda, he admitted to striking the child the night before and putting him to sleep and they located the child deceased,” said Austin police Lt. Jason Staniszewski in 2018. "There were healing injuries so it had shown that Noel had received injuries in the past in which Mr. Zepeda admitted to."

Noel's mother and father gave statements in court addressing Berumen-Zepeda after the plea, says the district attorney's office.

The case against Flores is still pending. She faces a tampering charge.