More than a decade after 17-month-old Adrian Constante was found unresponsive in a Hondo apartment, police say a Medina County grand jury has handed up indictments in the toddler’s 2013 death. Marissa Lopez, 34, and Isaac Nira, 30, now face charges tied to the case. According to Hondo police, Lopez was taken into custody on March 13 and booked into the Medina County Jail, while Nira is already serving time in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on unrelated charges.
The case dates back to June 30, 2013, when Hondo officers were called to 231 Stagecoach Drive, Apartment 1103, after community EMS crews reported a 17-month-old who was not breathing. First responders tried life-saving measures, and Adrian was airlifted by AirLife to Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, where he was later pronounced dead. The investigation got new life in September 2024, when an evidence technician flagged items during a routine inventory. Detectives followed up with fresh interviews and report reviews, then routed the case to the Medina County District Attorney’s Office, which prepared it for a grand jury, according to News 4 San Antonio.
How Routine Inventories Can Reopen Old Cases
When police departments chase accreditation, they often tighten up how they handle evidence, and those deep dives can bring long-quiet cases back to the surface. The Texas Police Chiefs Association’s Law Enforcement Accreditation program puts property and evidence management front and center among its best practices. Agencies must document inventories and internal controls that can spark renewed review of items sitting in storage, according to the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
Indictments And Custody
Officials say the Medina County grand jury indicted Lopez on a charge of injury to a child by omission, and Nira on charges of injury to a child by both commission and omission. Hondo police told News 4 San Antonio that Lopez was booked into the Medina County Jail on March 13. Nira remains in state custody on unrelated matters, and detectives assigned to the department’s Criminal Investigations Division are continuing work on the reopened case.
What The Charges Mean
Under Texas Penal Code §22.04, “injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual” can apply when a person’s actions, or failure to act, cause bodily injury or serious harm to someone in a protected group. The potential penalties depend on how severe the harm is and on the defendant’s mental state. Prosecutors can seek felony charges when injuries are alleged to have been caused intentionally, recklessly, or by omission if a caregiver had taken on responsibility for the person’s care, according to the statute text at Justia.
What’s Next In Court
With indictments now in hand, the case moves into the Medina County court system, where arraignments and pretrial hearings are typically the next items on the calendar. Lopez and Nira are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in court. Future developments, including any bond rulings, hearing dates, or a potential trial setting, will appear in local court records. The Hondo Police Department says detectives will keep working the case while the district attorney’s office carries it forward.
