Remembering Roman

Roman Barreras was approximately three years old. For much of his short life, Roman was deliberately isolated from the world around him. Some members of his extended family barely knew him. Others said they hadn't seen him since 2012. After his death, relatives described Roman as beautiful baby boy and pleaded with the public to remember him that way. That is important. Because Roman's story would eventually become associated with starvation, a toy chest and years of failures by the adults and systems surrounding him. But Roman was not a toy chest. He was not skeletal remains. He was not a court case. He was a little boy. He should have been playing with toys instead of being hidden from the world. He should have been surrounded by people who knew him, saw him and protected him. His name was Roman Barreras. And for a child who was kept out of sight for so much of his life, remembering his name matters.

Roman's Story

Roman was born in July 2010 in Arizona. Child Protective Services became involved with his family almost immediately. On July 14, 2010, when Roman was a newborn, CPS received a report after his mother, Raquel Barreras, acknowledged a long term addiction to Percocet. Roman and three of his siblings were eventually removed from their parents' care because of substance abuse within the household. The children were later returned to their father, Martin Barreras, under conditions that restricted Raquel's contact with them. Those conditions were not followed. Raquel returned to the home and Roman was again living with both parents. Over time, Roman became increasingly isolated. Prosecutors would later present evidence that Roman was treated differently from his siblings. He was kept in a covered playpen and isolated in a concrete laundry room. Evidence presented at Raquel's trial included allegations that she beat Roman with a broomstick and prevented his siblings from playing with him or giving him food. Roman's siblings later described what was happening. They told investigators that their mother starved Roman. One sibling remembered being told that Roman had been very bad and that the other children were not allowed to play with him. Roman slowly disappeared from the lives of people outside the home. Extended family members became concerned because they weren't seeing him. Some relatives said Roman's parents actively avoided them when they encountered one another in public. Family members attempted to find out whether Roman was okay. But Roman remained hidden. At some point, believed to have been during 2013, Roman died. He had been starved. His death was later ruled a homicide caused by starvation. But authorities didn't immediately know Roman was dead. His body remained concealed. When the Barreras family was eventually evicted from their Tucson rental home in January 2014, they moved away. They left something behind. On March 4, 2014, the landlord was cleaning the abandoned property. Among the belongings was a blue toy chest. Inside it were the skeletal remains of a small child. The remains belonged to Roman. A little boy had been dead long enough for his body to become skeletal, and no authority had known where he was. He was approximately three years old when he died.

Warning Signs & System Failures

Roman's death did not occur in a family completely unknown to child protection authorities. CPS had been involved since Roman was born. Arizona's official child-fatality disclosure documents multiple reports and hotline contacts concerning the Barreras family. Roman and his siblings had previously been removed from the home. When they were returned to Martin, restrictions were placed on Raquel's contact with the children. Those restrictions weren't followed. Relatives also became concerned. They tried to see Roman. They contacted child-protection authorities. And eventually there was an extraordinarily direct warning. On January 10, 2014, someone called the CPS hotline and reported that Roman had not been seen for several months to a year. That call should have raised an obvious question: Where is Roman? But according to the state's own report, the call was incorrectly classified. It was not investigated. Roman was already dead. Less than two months later, his remains were discovered inside the toy chest. There were other opportunities for intervention as well. Authorities had responded to concerns involving Roman's older siblings' school attendance. Yet no one discovered that a three-year-old child who should have been living in that home had vanished from public view. Roman couldn't walk into a CPS office. He couldn't tell a teacher he was hungry. He couldn't call his relatives and tell them where he was. And the more isolated he became, the fewer adults were left who could see what was happening to him. The people who did notice his absence asked questions. Those questions did not reach Roman in time.

Justice for Roman

After Roman's remains were discovered, both parents were arrested. On March 17, 2014, a grand jury indicted Raquel and Martin Barreras on charges including: First degree murder Child abuse Concealment of a dead body.

 

Raquel Barreras Raquel's case eventually went to trial in 2019. Prosecutors presented evidence that Roman had been isolated, physically abused and deliberately deprived of food. A jury convicted Raquel of first degree felony murder and child abuse. She had also pleaded guilty to additional charges, including concealment of Roman's body and child abuse charges involving her other children. She was sentenced to: Natural life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 24 years. Her murder conviction and sentence were later upheld on appeal.

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Martin Barreras Roman's father was also prosecuted for his role in what happened to his son. Evidence showed that Martin knew Roman was being abused. Early court filings alleged that he confronted Raquel about her treatment of Roman but failed to take sufficient action to stop the starvation. Martin was ultimately convicted for his role in Roman's abuse and death and, like Raquel, received a natural-life prison sentence.

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Raquel Marcella Barreras
Relationship to Roman: Mother
Conviction: First degree murder and child abuse, with additional guilty pleas
Sentence: Natural life without parole plus 24 years

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Martin Raymond Barreras
Relationship to Roman: Father
Convicted for his role in Roman's abuse and death
Sentence: Natural life imprisonment

Forever Remembered

Roman Barreras was approximately three years old. There is something particularly haunting about a child disappearing while still technically surrounded by people. Roman didn't vanish from a playground. He wasn't abducted by a stranger. He disappeared inside his own home. His relatives stopped seeing him. His siblings were reportedly forbidden to play with him or feed him. He was isolated. He was starved. Eventually, Roman died. And still his absence went unanswered. Then, months later, someone opened an abandoned toy chest. Inside were the remains of a little boy whom adults should have been searching for long before that lid was ever lifted. But that box is not where Roman's memory belongs. His family asked people to remember him as the beautiful baby boy he had once been. So that is what we will do. There should have been a fourth birthday. There should have been preschool. There should have been kindergarten. There should have been toys Roman actually got to play with. There should have been family members who didn't have to wonder where he was. There should have been years in which Roman could grow loud enough that no one could ever make him disappear again. His name was Roman Barreras. He was here. He mattered. And after being hidden for far too long, Roman will be seen and remembered. Abuse Angels remembers Roman the little boy who deserved to be seen, protected loved and given the chance to grow up.