Gastonia man facing murder charge after adopted 6-week-old son dies
Detectives say the infant went into cardiac arrest after being abused by his adopted father.
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On April 1 at 10 a.m., the Gastonia Police Department responded to a call on Prancer Court about a 6-week-old who had gone into cardiac arrest.
By WBTV Web Staff
GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - A former Belmont Abbey and UNC Charlotte professor is now facing a first degree murder charge after his 6-week-old adopted son died last night.
WBTV was at the Gaston County courthouse today as 42-year-old Van Erick Custodio made his first court appearance.
On April 1 at 10 a.m., the Gastonia Police Department responded to a call on Prancer Lane about a 6-week-old who had gone into cardiac arrest.
The infant was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening conditions. That child, identified as Lucas Birchim, died from his injuries Wednesday night, according to Gastonia Police.
Investigators said the baby’s cardiac arrest stemmed from his adoptive father, Custodio, physically abusing him.
Custodio was arrested in York County, S.C. on April 11, and initially charged with felony child abuse - severe bodily injury.
On Thursday, detectives said that Custodio is now charged with first-degree murder following the child’s death.
In court, Custodio was expressionless as his charges were read to him.
Earlier today, WBTV went to Custodio’s home and whoever was there told WBTV’s Dee Dee Gatton they had ‘no comment.’
Neighbors told WBTV they hardly saw the couple that lived there but helped raise money for them to adopt an infant.
In a video posted on Youtube in April of last year, Custodio said he and his wife weren’t able to have children due to medical reasons.
They were foster parents at one point, eventually adopted one girl, and were asking for help to fund their next adoption, which turned out to be Lucas.
In the video, Custodio said, “We’re not people to go out and ask for this, so it’s more trying to allow God to do his work and some friends of us reached out to us and said I’m shocked at how much adoptions cost. Why does it cost so much? So they decided to one donate money to us which we were very humbled and couldn’t believe people would want to do that when there are so many other causes out there.”
A GoFundMe from April of last year also raised more than $10,000 to help the family adopt another child.
As for Custodio, there is a $500,000 bond for the child abuse charge and a hold for the murder charge.
When the judge asked him if he had any comments about the bond he said, “no ma’am.”
The grand jury will meet on Monday.
Belmont Abbey provided this statement to WBTV:
“Van Erick was hired to teach Computer Science at Belmont Abbey in 2019. He recently took family leave and was not actively working for the college. Effective 4/13/2022, he was suspended from teaching at Belmont Abbey. Our prayers and hearts are with those impacted during this time.”
UNC Charlotte provided this statement below:
“UNC Charlotte hired Van Erick Custodio on a limited, temporary contract to teach one class this semester in an adjunct capacity. He has been placed on administrative leave, and another faculty member will cover this class for the remainder of the semester.”