HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Zachary De La Rosa, the father of the presumed dead infant, is now out on bond, ValleyCentral takes a deeper look at the developing case.
De La Rosa was released from Cameron County’s Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center on May 31, 2022. De La Rosa was detained on the charge of Injury to a Child. His wife, Susanne Pierce, was charged with the Abuse of a Corpse, but just like De La Rosa is out of jail on bond.
The parents claim their child, Malaki, was born on March 8. However, on March 9, Pierce said the baby died peacefully on her chest.
According to an arrest report obtained by ValleyCentral, De La Rosa told Cameron County Constables he attempted to perform CPR for two hours but was unsuccessful in reviving the child. The report states De la Rosa passed out and when he woke up, his wife and baby were gone. He said Pierce did not return until the next morning and she did not have the baby.
An extensive search ensued with multiple law enforcement agencies in the Long Island Village area of Port Isabel. Cameron County Constable Precinct 1’s Norman Esquivel confirmed to ValleyCentral that baby clothing and a diaper were discovered near a shallow clandestine grave.
“We’re thinking like Man, this is it,” Esquivel said. “A blue baby hat was there, torn apart. Looked like it had been chewed on by wildlife or coyotes in the area. Then about further 10 feet from the hole, we found a baby diaper that was ripped apart and chewed up pieces.”
Investigators and De la Rosa’s twin sister Britt, suspect drug use and a fanatical belief in conspiracy theories may have played a role in the parents not disclosing the birth and death of baby Malaki.
“They truly believe, in their mind that CPS [Child Protective Services] is sex trafficking children and that us, law enforcement, is allowing them to do that,” Esquivel explained.
“They better have been out of their mind high,” Britt said in frustration while recounting the phone call she had with her brother while in jail. “I’m torn because obviously, I love my brother. But they both need to be held accountable for what they did. And it’s hard because exactly ‘what did they do?'”
De la Rosa is currently out on a $15,000 cash surety bond. Both De La Rosa and Pierce are court-ordered to wear GPS monitoring devices.
DNA results are pending on the evidence collected from the home where Malaki was born, hair and saliva from the parents, the diaper, and clothing from the grave site.
ValleyCentral will continue to follow this story as it develops.
