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Louisiana Foster Father Charged With Murder of Toddler Placed in His Home a Month Earlier

A certified Beauregard Parish foster father faces a second-degree murder charge after an 18-month-old in DCFS custody died with brain bleeds in various stages of healing.
By Adam Neuerburg
Beauregard Parish Courthouse in DeRidder, Louisiana
Photo: Jonathan Fricker / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (PD-USGov-Interior)

DeRidder, Louisiana — A Beauregard Parish foster father is charged with second-degree murder in the death of an 18-month-old girl who had been in Louisiana state custody for barely a month, and investigators say her brain showed bleeding in several areas at various stages of healing. The state’s Department of Children and Family Services has opened an internal review of how he was certified and how she was placed.

Arrest after the toddler’s death

Alberto Marin, 31, was arrested July 30 and charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice, according to KPLC and KNOE. The American Press reported his age as 32. Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Sylvester Denmond said detectives obtained digital evidence that led to the arrest.

The girl was taken to Beauregard Health System in DeRidder on July 21 with brain hemorrhaging and was transferred to a Baton Rouge hospital, where she died July 26, the American Press reported. Denmond said she had hemorrhaging in several areas in various stages of healing. Marin has not been convicted, and the charges are accusations.

Watch: Adam Neuerburg on the Louisiana toddler who died a month after the state placed her in foster care. Subscribe on YouTube



In state care for less than a month

DCFS said the girl entered state custody on June 25 and was placed in a certified foster home that day, KNOE reported. Marin had been certified as a foster parent in January 2024. Another foster child living in the home has since been removed, the agency said.

DCFS described its certification process as including “pre-service training, state and federal criminal background clearances,” along with fingerprinting, references, home-study visits and a home safety inspection. The agency said its review will determine “whether all policies, procedures, and decision-making were properly followed.”

We owe her accountability. We owe her transparency.

Rebecca Harris, DCFS secretary, via KNOE

Despite that statement, DCFS declined to answer reporters’ questions about why the girl was removed from her parents, how many children Marin had fostered, when caseworkers last visited the home, or whether there were prior reports involving the foster home, citing confidentiality, KNOE reported.

An earlier emergency call at the home

The American Press reported that on Aug. 11, 2025, emergency responders were called to the same Butler Road home for a “medical emergency” involving an infant who was gasping for air and vomiting blood. Law enforcement was not involved because first responders decided deputies were not needed, the newspaper reported. It is not clear from public reports whether DCFS learned of that call or reviewed it before placing another baby there.

Accountability, not just a review

Injuries in different stages of healing point to harm over time, in a home the state certified and was obligated to monitor. An internal review run by the agency that made the placement, with findings kept confidential, is not the same as accountability. The family that lost this child and the public that pays for the system are entitled to know what caseworkers saw and when. FAN explains how families can push for records and answers in its guide to the CPS investigation process.

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Video transcript
An eighteen-month-old girl was taken into Louisiana state custody and placed in a certified foster home. Thirty-one days later, she was dead. Investigators say her brain was bleeding in several places, in different stages of healing. And the state still won't say what its caseworkers saw.
This is Beauregard Parish, in western Louisiana. On June 25th, 2026, the Department of Children and Family Services took an eighteen-month-old girl into custody and placed her that same day in a certified foster home in DeRidder, the parish seat.
On July 21st, she was brought to the hospital in DeRidder with bleeding on her brain. She was transferred to Baton Rouge, and on July 26th, she died.
The parish's chief investigator said the bleeding was in several areas, in various stages of healing.
Injuries in different stages of healing mean harm that happened more than once, over time. In a home the state chose, certified, and was supposed to be watching.
The foster father, Alberto Marin, thirty-one, was arrested July 30th and charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. Detectives say digital evidence led to the arrest. He has not been convicted, and the charges are accusations.
Think about how this little girl spent the last month of her life. The state removed her from her family to keep her safe. And the place it put her is where she was hurt, again and again, until she died.
Marin had been certified as a foster parent since January 2024. DCFS says its process includes training, state and federal background checks, fingerprinting, references, home visits and a safety inspection.
But the American Press reported that in August 2025, emergency responders were called to the same home for an infant who was gasping for air and vomiting blood. Deputies weren't sent. And it's not clear whether DCFS ever learned about that call before placing another baby there.
DCFS opened an internal review. But it declined to tell reporters why the girl was removed from her parents, how many children Marin had fostered, when a caseworker last visited, or whether there were earlier reports on the home. It cited confidentiality.
The agency's secretary, Rebecca Harris, said: "We owe her accountability. We owe her transparency."
Then give it to her. You can't promise transparency and hide behind confidentiality in the same breath. That confidentiality was supposed to protect this child. Now it's protecting the agency that placed her.
An internal review run by the same agency that made the placement, with its findings kept private, is not accountability. Her family, and the public that pays for this system, deserve to know what caseworkers saw, and when.
Here's what has to change. First, every emergency call to a foster home gets reported to the agency, automatically.
Second, the youngest children in a new placement get seen in person, every week, especially in the first month.
Third, when a child dies in foster care, an independent body investigates. Not the agency that placed her.
And fourth, publish the findings. Every one.
If your child is in foster care, ask for the visit schedule in writing, ask who has lived in the home, and if anything concerns you, report it to the caseworker, the supervisor and your attorney, in writing. This isn't legal advice. FAN is not a law firm.
She was in the state's care for thirty-one days. The least the state can do now is tell the truth about every one of them. If this made you angry, share it. Somebody you know needs to see it. The full story and every source are at fathers advocacy network dot com. I'm Adam Neuerburg. Let the silenced speak.

Key facts

  • Alberto Marin, 31, a certified Beauregard Parish foster father, is charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
  • The 18-month-old girl entered DCFS custody and was placed in his home June 25, 2026.
  • She was hospitalized July 21 with brain hemorrhaging and died July 26.
  • Investigators say the bleeding was in various stages of healing.
  • Marin was certified as a foster parent in January 2024.
  • Emergency responders were called to the same home in August 2025 for an infant vomiting blood, the American Press reported.
  • DCFS opened an internal review but declined to release placement details.

Sources

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