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Celebration of life held for 11-month-old

Posted at 10:16 PM, Feb 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-01 23:16:46-05

Eleven-month-old Daniel Cooper's life was celebrated today at Scott's Funeral Home in Gatesville. 

Daniel passed away on January 26 after being in the care of Dennis Santillanes. Police say Santillanes was babysitting Daniel along with 3 other children. Santillanes says he placed his 2-year-old daughter in the playpen with the infant and stepped out of the room. 

After hearing the infant screaming, he discovered his daughter with a blanket over Daniel's head. Santillanes realized the infant was foaming at the mouth and after failed efforts to awake the child he took him to his girlfriend Stephanie Brzezowski, who headed to the hospital with the infant.

Along the way, she called 9-1-1 and was instructed to pull over and an ambulance would meet her to take the child. An autopsy was performed and revealed a fracture to the back side/rear of the skull. 

Santillanes was issued a polygraph exam and before taking it, mentioned he accidentally hit Daniels head on a door frame and during the exam confessed to dropping the infant. Both confessions were not mentioned in previous interviews. Santillanes is accused with Injury to a child, 2nd Degree Felony. 

Daniel would have been a year old Thursday. 

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