Ayrin Vick, of Peoria, Arizona, and her boyfriend had taken little Natalia Santillan into their care. The mother of three-year-old Natalia had to do some jail time, so the couple were to keep the child during her incarceration. They took the girl home in the middle of March. Ayrin Vick is the mother of a ten-month-old child of her own. Her boyfriend, Joe Ramirez, has an eight-year-old daughter. The picture of Ayrin, as seen to the left, hardly looks like that of a killer. But, that face seems to have masked something awful. Murder is the crime she is accused of by the state of Arizona.

Ayrin Vick and Joe Ramirez, lived at the Arrowhead Landing Apartments in the 15000 block of North 83rd Avenue. On April 7, Ayrin was home alone with two of the children –her own 10-month-old, and three-year-old, Natalia. Something went horribly wrong that day –so wrong that it could no longer remain a secret. Ayrin dialed 911 that afternoon. She said that little Natalia had "suddenly collapsed" and was not breathing. But, what was the matter? Officers would soon discover that this wasn’t the only bad day for the child –only the last.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found the toddler covered in bruises. Officers worked frantically to save the child using CPR until firefighters arrived. But, it was too late. Natalia, only three years old, was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The Peoria Police Department’s Special Victims Unit was assigned to the case.

What police found was not the result of any "accident." This wasn’t an isolated incident. This was something much, much worse. Laurie Roberts’ blog at the Arizona Republic has a lot more on what actually went on before things went fatal.

You see, the tot kept having accidents. But, Ayrin and Joe thought the little girl, a baby, was some sort of delinquent. The kid didn’t have the accidents around other people –only around Ayrin. I wonder why? Ayrin thought the kid had to be doing it on purpose, since she only had accidents when other people weren’t around. I think it might have been Natalia’s caretakers that acted differently when others weren’t watching. The chilling facts seem to support this theory. Three hours before Ayrin called 911, she had texted Joe. She said she "cannot handle it any more." What happened in those three hours?

Police found Natalia covered in bruises. But, that’s not all. There were contusions inside both of the child’s ears. The poor child had bald spots –her hair had been yanked out in chunks. Imagine how painful that must have been. She had a cut over her left eye. Under her right eye was a burn –a burn that had already started to heal. Her forehead and cheeks were also black and blue. This kid suffered much more than just her final day. Natalia’s small intestine had been severed from blunt-force trauma. Doctors said that the internal injury, the injury that proved fatal, happened that morning. They also said that if treated immediately, the child may very well have survived. That is, if Ayrin had called for help right away. She didn’t. 911 wasn’t called until 3:20 that afternoon. Natalia Santillan was the victim of a homicide.

27-year-old Ayrin Amber Vick was arrested on July 22 at her apartment. She was indicted on July 28. Vick was charged with second degree murder and child abuse. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 3.

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