Dad announces death of his 6-year-old son who was attacked by neighbor with baseball bat
GEORGETOWN, Texas – Jeremy Diaz, a 6-year-old Georgetown boy who spent weeks in the hospital after he was attacked by a neighbor with a baseball bat, died on Tuesday morning, his dad wrote in a GoFundMe post.
Arturo Diaz, Jeremy's father, said that he went to check on the boy Tuesday morning when he noticed that his face was pale, his eyes weren't moving and his heart stopped. Arturo Diaz said hospital staff members tried to resuscitate him but were not successful.
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"He fought for over 60 days and was improving, but at the end, the odds seemed against him and he gave up the ghost," Arturo Diaz's post reads. "The last night before we were plunged into this nightmare, Jeremy told me that he had brushed his teeth and was ready for reading and bed. He took me by the hand and led me to his room. When we were done reading, the last thing he said was, 'papa, watch me cover myself.' Today I covered his face for the last time. I was there when he took his first breath and saw him take his last - no parent should see their children buried before them."
Jeremy suffered serious brain injuries after neighbor Daniel Logan broke into the Diaz family's home and hit him with a baseball bat Sept. 11, according to a copy of Logan's arrest affidavit. The injury caused Jeremy's brain to swell, and he's been in the hospital ever since. Logan also hit his own mother in the face with the bat, according to the affidavit.
Asked about Logan's motive, Williamson County Sheriff Mike Gleason said he believed Logan was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Logan was charged with felony aggravated assault and intentionally causing serious bodily injury to a child. He was found incompetent to stand trial on Oct. 5, according to Williamson County court records. A mental health hearing is scheduled for Nov. 28, the records said.
"One day, he just snapped," Jeremy's father told USA TODAY in October. "He came in and before I could disarm him, he had already hurt my son."
Logan's attorney Marc Chavez offered condolences to the boy's family as well.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the young boy as well as his family during this trying time," Chavez said in an Oct. 4 statement to USA TODAY. "While the allegations sound troubling, we ask everyone to reserve judgment until all the facts come to light especially while we investigate issues related to serious mental illness.”
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Jeremy's father said after the attack, the opened his eyes multiple times despite doctors telling the family things weren't looking good. His father played some of his favorite songs for him, he recalled.
"After the first week, they told us that Jeremy was going to pass," his father shared with USA TODAY in October. "But he survived that. He beat death. They said he wouldn't have movement on one side … he is moving his limbs and a couple of days ago, he opened his eyes."
Jeremy was a giver and his 3-year-old brother looked up to him, his father told USA TODAY.
In October, Diaz remembered what Jeremy said to him the night before the home invasion. His father walked him to his bedroom where they would read a bedtime story.
“Papa,” he said to his father. “I love you.”
Community members stepped up to raise money for Jeremy shortly after his attack, including his friends at Team Rabadi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Muay Thai. The group hosted a BBQ chicken lunch to raise money for the boy in October.
“Jeremy epitomizes the virtues a martial artist and a great leader should embody,” the academy wrote a few days after the attack. The 6-year-old was extremely good at tying his black belt knot and was always willing to teach others.
Jeremy's GoFundMe page was set up by loved ones to help pay for medical expenses and rehabilitation. As of Tuesday, it had raised over $310,000.
Staff writer Claire Osborn contributed reporting.