Dad charged with second-degree manslaughter in infant's death

A Federal Way man was charged Friday with second-degree manslaughter in the death of his infant son last weekend in a backyard fire pit.

Alberto Rios, 38, will be arraigned on July 9 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. If convicted as charged, the sentence range is 21 to 27 months in prison.

Police were called to Rios' home in the 2600 block of Southwest 333rd Place at 12:02 Sunday morning. Rios told police he fell asleep on a bench near the fire pit with his 7-month-old son, Diego Alberto Rios-Santana, on his chest. When he awoke, he said, he found his son dead in the fire pit.

Rios was arrested Tuesday for investigation of first-degree manslaughter. After reviewing the case, prosecutors determined a second-degree manslaughter charge was appropriate, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office. How exactly Diego got from the bench into the fire pit is still under investigation, Donohoe said.

To prove second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors must show the death was caused by extreme negligence.

A next-door neighbor said there was a loud party at Rios' home Saturday night, and she could see a bonfire blazing in his backyard. Guests left between 9:30 and 10 p.m., the neighbor said, but the fire continued to burn.

Court documents say after guests left, Diego was crying and Rios' wife, Maria Santana, told him she believed the baby was getting sick. Rios said he would take the baby outside to sleep with him and his 4-year-old daughter accompanied him, according to court documents. When he awoke around midnight, his daughter and infant son were gone.

That's when he found the baby in the fire pit, court documents say.

Rios told police he drank between three and six beers during the party at his house that night, and was tired from working all day, court documents say.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday that Diego died of smoke inhalation and burns to his entire body. Court documents said the autopsy also revealed Diego had soot in his esophagus, indicating he was alive when he fell into the fire pit.

Rios is being held at King County Jail on $1 million bail. Prosecutors said Rios, an illegal immigrant, was a flight risk and cited several drug convictions in asking for the high bail.

Rios was convicted of four cocaine-related charges between 1991 and 1994, court documents say. He was convicted of marijuana possession in 1990.

In 2001, he was arrested on suspicion of felony harassment and two counts of fourth-degree assault, according to court documents. All of those charges — related to a domestic-violence call — were dropped.

Rios, who has used different aliases and birth dates in the past, has been deported to his native Mexico three times — in 1994, 1996 and in 2001, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.

Leslie Anne Jones: 206-464-2745 or ljones@seattletimes.com