OTTAWA — A Napoleon man who recently confessed to killing his son 10 years after his son’s death waived his preliminary hearing Tuesday sending his case to a grand jury for consideration.
Judge Chad Niese of Putnam County Municipal Court advised 30-year-old Travis Soto of his rights, including challenging whatever evidence the prosecution brought forth at the preliminary hearing. The prosecution is required to present enough evidence to show Soto may have had a role in the crime to have the case sent to a grand jury.
Niese advised Soto upon waiver he would immediately send the case to a grand jury for consideration. Soto said he still wanted to waive the hearing.
Soto is charged with murder and tampering with evidence. An indictment is expected in the next month and a grand jury could return similar charges or even change the current charges depending on the evidence the prosecution presents.
Soto is charged in the 2006 death of his 2-year-old son, Julio Baldazo, who Soto said was killed after he was struck by an all-terrain vehicle. Soto, living in Continental at the time, said he did not see his son when he ran over him after he drove around the coroner of a garage and struck him.
The boy lived for another one to two hours after the incident but Soto did not seek medical attention for him, authorities said at the time. Soto pleaded guilty to child endangerment and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Authorities have not given details on Soto’s new version of how his son died.
Since his release from prison, Soto moved to Napoleon. He walked into the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office last week and requested to speak to an officer to make a murder confession in his son’s death. He told officers he found God and wanted to come clean, Putnam County Sheriff Tim Meyer said.
“He told us he didn’t have religion and now he’s trying to make things right with himself and God. He wanted to get it off his conscience,” Meyer said.
Investigators still have to go back and review all evidence to see if it matches Soto’s new story.
Soto was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
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