Fort Worth Babysitter Sentenced to 30 Years for Smothering 9-Month-Old Baby With Pillow
FORT WORTH, Texas — A 59-year-old woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering a 9-month-old boy she was babysitting in Fort Worth in November 2024.
Dulce Gomez, 59, pleaded guilty to murder in connection with the death of Fabian Arjon, an infant who died after being smothered with a pillow.
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office announced the conviction and sentence Monday, October 26, 2026.
Gomez was originally indicted on a charge of capital murder of a person younger than 10 years old, but prosecutors and defense attorneys negotiated a plea agreement allowing her to plead guilty to the lesser-included offense of murder.
Under the agreement, Gomez received a 30-year prison sentence.
Nine-Month-Old Baby Found Unresponsive While in Babysitter's Care
The fatal incident occurred November 4, 2024, when Fort Worth police, firefighters and MedStar emergency personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive 9-month-old baby.
The infant, identified as Fabian Arjon, had been in Gomez's care at the time.
Emergency responders transported Fabian to Cook Children's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators determined that the infant died from suffocation.
The investigation revealed that Gomez had smothered the baby with a pillow.
Plea Agreement Avoids Mandatory Life Sentence Without Parole
Gomez initially faced a capital murder charge because the victim was younger than 10 years old.
Had she been convicted of capital murder at trial, she would have faced a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole under Texas law, given that prosecutors had waived the death penalty.
Instead, Gomez pleaded guilty to murder through a negotiated agreement between the prosecution and her defense attorneys.
During proceedings in Tarrant County's 372nd District Court, Judge Julie Lugo questioned Gomez about the consequences of her plea.
Gomez, who is not a United States citizen, acknowledged that she understood her conviction could result in deportation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alec Trono.
